The Indian Supreme Court’s decision yesterday to ask former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar to take over as interim chief of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and to let the two teams under scrutiny – Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings – compete in the tournament, is great news for cricket.
While it obviously does not yet name and shame the culprits in the spot-fixing case which has been hovering like a dark cloud over the IPL, what it shows is that even the highest judiciary in the country has faith in the tournament.
The fact remains that the IPL is a great concept.
It makes money for the rights-holders and the players, and it entertains the public like no other cricket tournament.
But alongside all of that, there is no denying that the IPL needs to be governed by a stringent set of rules that eschews the possibility of controversies and corruption.
While accepting the court decision, Gavaskar said he will “give it his best shot”.
His best shot during a glittering career was undoubtedly the straight drive.
Those who saw him in his prime, still marvel at how straight his bat would be at the time of impact, and how the ball would miss the stumps at the non-striker’s end by inches before rolling all along the ground towards the sight screen.
However, it remains extremely doubtful Gavaskar would be allowed to wield a straight bat, or dig in like he used to.
Unlike on the cricket pitch, where his resolve and resilience saved India many a match, let’s not expect miracles from the Little Master in such a short time, despite him clearly having the right credentials for the job.
One thing Gavaskar will find hard to handle is the politics that is deeply entrenched in Indian cricket.
There are wheels within wheels in the BCCI and each one has to be properly greased.
Gavaskar is not exactly a novice in that department – he has one of the shrewdest brains in the game that not only helped him on the pitch, but also off it – but this requires him to take it to an altogether different level.
The best result one can hope from his short tenure is that the new season of the IPL is played without any controversies.
However, what would be best for the tournament is someone as experienced and knowledgable as him is given complete power to make changes and a much longer stint at the helm of affairs.
