In 2005, when the Sharad Pawar faction wrested control of the BCCI from Jagmohan Dalmiya, many followers thought that it was a new dawn for cricket in India. Heck, even the new committee believed in it because they published a vision statement! Today, reading it makes one wonder whether to laugh or cry.
(Click here for the entire vision statement)
Here are some snippets that should tell you how seriously (not!) they took their own vision.
To make domestic cricket attractive, at least 4 weeks in the month of October be kept free from international cricket. While finalizing bilateral tours, this Edict is to be kept in mind.
Ahem! In 2011, from October 14-29, India is going to play an ODI series against England. Clean bowled!
The President is very clear that there cannot be any compromise on facilities to players and paid spectators as they are the Gods for cricket administrators.
I promise you, I am not making it up! Some stadia in India have indeed been brought up to par. Not surprisingly, they also happen to be the "home" grounds of some of the head honchos of the BCCI. I am sure that is sheer coincidence. On the other hand, the 2011 World Cup began in a storm of bad press for the way the "Gods for cricket administrators" were treated. Remember that?
The board wants to end speculation over the selling of television rights. It would like to come up with a transparent method which will not only benefit the Board financially but will also help in restoring its image as an organization which has become the epicenter of international cricket.
They did end all the speculation over the selling of television rights by utilizing a method so transparent that, sometimes, even they did not know the details of the transaction!
The Board will soon have a website providing all basic information...
This edition of the vision statement was released in 2005. The website was announced with great flourish 3 years later, in 2008. Surely, an unemployed programmer in the suburbs of Hyderabad could have conjured up a website in less time than that.
When the launch of the website was announced, Sharad Pawar said:
"I'm happy that this alliance between Global Cricket Ventures and the BCCI will further significantly enrich the user experience for the Indian cricket fans around the world with a direct window to the on-field action through next generation technologies".
By the way, here's the much-touted BCCI website. After a few failures to launch, it has finally morphed into something that approaches what a functional website should be like. I guess there is hope after all.
By the way, if this hasn't satisfied your hunger, just for kicks you can read the 2000 Vision Statement of the BCCI here!
(Hat tip: Prem Panicker's Twitter feed.)
(Click here for the entire vision statement)
Here are some snippets that should tell you how seriously (not!) they took their own vision.
To make domestic cricket attractive, at least 4 weeks in the month of October be kept free from international cricket. While finalizing bilateral tours, this Edict is to be kept in mind.
Ahem! In 2011, from October 14-29, India is going to play an ODI series against England. Clean bowled!
The President is very clear that there cannot be any compromise on facilities to players and paid spectators as they are the Gods for cricket administrators.
I promise you, I am not making it up! Some stadia in India have indeed been brought up to par. Not surprisingly, they also happen to be the "home" grounds of some of the head honchos of the BCCI. I am sure that is sheer coincidence. On the other hand, the 2011 World Cup began in a storm of bad press for the way the "Gods for cricket administrators" were treated. Remember that?
The board wants to end speculation over the selling of television rights. It would like to come up with a transparent method which will not only benefit the Board financially but will also help in restoring its image as an organization which has become the epicenter of international cricket.
They did end all the speculation over the selling of television rights by utilizing a method so transparent that, sometimes, even they did not know the details of the transaction!
The Board will soon have a website providing all basic information...
This edition of the vision statement was released in 2005. The website was announced with great flourish 3 years later, in 2008. Surely, an unemployed programmer in the suburbs of Hyderabad could have conjured up a website in less time than that.
When the launch of the website was announced, Sharad Pawar said:
"I'm happy that this alliance between Global Cricket Ventures and the BCCI will further significantly enrich the user experience for the Indian cricket fans around the world with a direct window to the on-field action through next generation technologies".
By the way, here's the much-touted BCCI website. After a few failures to launch, it has finally morphed into something that approaches what a functional website should be like. I guess there is hope after all.
By the way, if this hasn't satisfied your hunger, just for kicks you can read the 2000 Vision Statement of the BCCI here!
(Hat tip: Prem Panicker's Twitter feed.)
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