The Cricket Board on Thursday cleared the deck for ex-ICL players, who have been granted amnesty, to take part in the third edition of the Indian Premier League with a cap on their payment being a maximum of Rs 20 lakhs.
Great!! I thought. First line of the article probably carried the best thing BCCI has done in recent past, amnesty to ICL players. By the time the line ended, BCCI was at it yet again proclaiming, “We are fools but love to flaunt it”. Cap on their fees, maximum being 20 Lakhs in a scenario where others including foreign players are minting money? Poor lads are still being discriminated. After being banned from playing any sort of serious cricket for more than 2 years, they are now being welcomed to IPL with the ICL tag firmly pasted on their purse by BCCI. If BCCI would have its way, they would have asked the ICL players to complete a period of 6 months rigorous imprisonment before being eligible for national selection or IPL. Niranjan Shah would have asked each player to polish his shoes one by one for a week before being given amnesty.
In 1869, Charles Darwin gave his theory, ‘Survival for the fittest’. These days, BCCI is. They are the ones who have the power and are calling all the shots in world cricket and the scenario is likely to remain unchanged for at least a decade. So we can expect more coming from them in near future. They are in world cricket what America used to be in the world for most part of last two decades.
Cheers!
America still is, isn't it? They still get away with everything.
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