“In the end, what all witnessed was the meek surrender to the power of cash that has gained its strength since it started and even before the tamasha commenced, the money power and autocratic nature of BCCI used to show its demonic face time and again since the mid-90s. It might not have been stronger in the past, but right now it is deadlier than a demon”
A dews days ago FIFA expressed their wish to stage the greatest shown on earth – World Cup Football - every two years. No sooner had they expressed their wish, majority of the experts, present-and ex-footballers expressed their concern about the issue and FIFA’s plan has been received with harsh criticism. In this world, where might is still regarded as the most right – democratic and sensible thinking people still exist, who shows the courage against the nonsensical idea.
There is a reason why football is still regarded as the game of the people because the choice of the people matters here, rather than forcing them to digest whatever an autocratic emperor wishes either via recruiting paid pundits or celebrities or branding cheap patriotism.
In cricket, the Board of Control of Cricket in India aka BCCI seems to be the perfect portrait of an arrogant and autocratic institution that only thinks of their own benefits and forces others to follow whatever rules they wish to apply. If someone does not wish to follow – well, the outcome would definitely be horrendous and no one can prove that they are a victim – each day the autocratic regime of BCCI continues to get stronger and none has the courage to speak – the majority in the cricketing world has become the puppet and sold their souls to a devil that is sucking their life each second.
The stage was all set for the fifth Test between India and England at Old Trafford. It had been a fantastic advertisement of Test cricket where India and England produced some of the most breathtaking moments of the summer and with one more Test to go, England were expected to bounce back while trailing by 2-1. Even, a spirited Indian unit could even create history by winning the series for the first time since 2007.
In the meantime, the tamasha in cricket at present – The Indian Premier League (IPL) would commence fulfilling their schedule as soon as the Test series in England finishes. The autocratic regime would always try and find a way to establish their project at any cost. This time around, they used the COVID Pandemic tool and abandoned the last Test and thus, insulted Test cricket for the sake of cash.
“Let’s be honest, this is all about money and the IPL,” former England captain turned pundit Michael Vaughan wrote in a column for The Telegraph.
“The Test has been cancelled because players were petrified of catching COVID and missing the IPL.”
“In a week or so we will be watching the IPL and the players will be running around smiling and happy. But they should have trusted the PCR tests. We know a lot about this virus now. We know how to manage and handle it better. Players are double vaccinated and bio-security can be raised very quickly.”
As England was criticized in different circles for withdrawing from South Africa, ditto Australia earlier this year, Vaughan believed with the benefit of vaccines and the fact all players tested negative on Thursday night, the match should have been given the finale it deserved.
How could it be impossible for a team like India not able to surface eleven players for a Test match remains a moot question!
“The game of cricket needed this Test match,” Vaughan added.
“The series was brilliantly poised. It just does not sit comfortably that a Test match can be cancelled 90 minutes before the toss. It is completely disrespectful towards the paying public.”
Vaughan was joined by his Telegraph colleague Simon Heffer while criticizing on the whole saga.
“The constant rhetoric from cricket’s administrators that Test cricket is the game’s gold standard had always sounded hollow, and now has finally and incontrovertibly been exposed as flannel with the Old Trafford Test being called off,” Heffer wrote.
“Its cancellation was an outrage, and not just because of the massive betrayal of the cricket-watching public that it represents. It means, plainly and simply, that Test cricket has run up the white flag and surrendered to the intensely powerful commercial forces embedded in the Indian Premier League; next to them, Test cricket is nothing, and is now seen to be nothing.”
“The ECB, which is utterly complicit in bringing about this state of affairs, tried to explain away some of the problem with predictable bromides - the coronavirus is not to be trifled with and, latching on to another now-important concern, there could have been issues with the players’ mental health. Neither of these issues is trivial, but in this context, they are both nonsense.”
Writing for The Times, Atherton said the “players have never been more powerful” and the tight schedule was something administrators had previously discussed.
“Covid-19, player power and the Indian Premier League combined to scupper the fifth Test in Manchester yesterday, to the consternation of the Lancashire club and the 85,000 or so supporters who had bought tickets to attend the first four days.”
“There was a profound sense of shock and disappointment over the cancellation of the match, especially at the end of a compelling series that stood at 2-1 to India with everything to play for.
“That there has been so little international cricket lost to COVID is, amid the anger and sadness, a surprise too. Authorities recognized that they could not ask players to operate in last summer’s strict biosecure bubbles, as society was opening up again. Inevitably this relaxation increased the risk of a COVID outbreak. County games have been affected this summer, as was the ODI series against Pakistan, which required a whole new England squad, and now a Test match has gone, although space will probably be found in the calendar at some point to mitigate the loss of broadcast income.”
“The proximity of the IPL was always a potential danger hanging over the Manchester Test: before the summer began there were pointed discussions between the ECB and BCCI about rescheduling the fifth Test for earlier in the summer, something the ECB held firm on. India’s players were concerned that further positive tests would result in a ten-day isolation period in England, thus meaning they would miss the start of the tournament, while the cost to the BCCI of not staging the IPL is about £360 million.”
“After the India players’ stated reluctance on Thursday evening, officials from the ECB and BCCI were locked in discussions throughout the night to try to navigate a way through the situation, with the ECB providing whatever assurances it could around the safety and well-being of the players. No solution was forthcoming, which reflects on where the balance of power lies in the modern game. Once the players had spoken, there was little the administrators could do about it. Players have never been more powerful than now.”
In the end, what all witnessed was the meek surrender to the power of cash that has gained its strength since it started and even before the tamasha commenced, the money power and autocratic nature of BCCI used to show its demonic face time and again since the mid-90s. It might not have been stronger in the past, but right now it is deadlier than a demon.
Each and everyone out there in world cricket including England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and West Indies have allowed the devil to become most powerful and this time around, England should realize after getting hit.
It’s time to wake up guys!
Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 11/09/2021 Sad day for Test cricket
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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