The tragedy of Rajasthan: BCCI shows it cares more about power than players

For all its flaws and foibles, the BCCI has never before let ego battles between its myriad officials get in the way of the cricket. They might favour one association over another by allotting it more international matches, but the cricketers have always been able to get on with their jobs of playing cricket. Until now. The free-for-all between Rajasthan Cricket Association president Lalit Modi and suspended BCCI president N Srinivasan threatens to dent the careers of over 500 first-class and age-group cricketers in the state after the BCCI left the association’s teams off its fixture list. [caption id=“attachment_1692719” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Which Pankaj Singh play Ranji Trophy this year? Getty Images[/caption] What is worse is that nobody has bothered to inform the players that their livelihoods are at risk, as the Mumbai Mirror reports : “A sense of shock was evident from a 10-second silence from Rajasthan No 3 Bist when told about the development by Mirror over the phone. ‘Losing a year means a loss of five years,” Bist said. ‘I think that I have a chance of playing for India in near future and this is going to hit me hard. It’s not about a year but a career. Administrators will never realise the hours and sweat we put in.’" Reports have emerged in the press that the BCCI will allow the state’s first-class cricketers to sign with other teams as professionals, but this raises complications of its own. Players have to get a No Objection Certificate from their home state association before they can play elsewhere but the BCCI has suspended the Rajasthan Cricket Association, so there is no association to issue the NOCs. “A banned state body can’t give NOC to any player, who is seeking an inter-state transfer,” a senior BCCI official told PTI. “As per the BCCI constitution, it is mandatory for a player to get an NOC from the last state association. The moment BCCI allows RCA to give NOC for inter-state transfer, that would mean that there is no ban on the association. BCCI can’t allow that to happen. Well, the sufferers will be Rajasthan players if BCCI does not help those who want transfers," the source said. For a number of players, the Ranji Trophy is also their main source of income. If they can’t play, they may not have much of an income. ““Not everyone plays the IPL and if they don’t play the Ranji Trophy, they are bound to feel financial crunch too by virtue of losing the match fee,” seam bowler Deepak Chahar told the Mumbai Mirror . Unsurprisingly, no present or former player from any other state has raised his voice in public solidarity with Rajasthan’s cricketers either. So Pankaj Singh, who became a cult hero after his Test debut in Southampton last month, suddenly has no idea if he will even play any cricket at all this season and nowhere to turn for help. If India had a players union, Pankaj, Bist and the rest would have had an organisation who would fight for their rights. The BCCI, of course, will never allow that. It does, and will not, share even single watt of power. This, sadly, is the result. The board exists to safeguard the sport in India however, it increasingly appears to care about money and power first, and cricket after.