In the wake of the dramatic axing of the Rajasthan Royals and Kings’ XI Punjab from the Indian Premier League, various franchises have been vocalizing their anguish, none more openly than industrialist Vijay Mallya.
Almost immediately after the news broke, the Royal Challengers, Bangalore, boss posted on his Twitter stream the following message:
“Wonder if the franchisees are serious stakeholders whose investments and participation are respected, or are they slaves who only come and play.”
In this connection, two SMSes sent out by Board of Control for Cricket in India Secretary N Srinivasan, who is also co-owner of the Chennai Super Kings franchise, is startling.
The first, sent from his cellphone to one particular franchise, reads:
“As we have been saying. Please align yourself with us. Or everyone will get the same taste of the medicine we have given today to RR and Kxip. Owners should not think they are above the Bcci”
The follow up message, sent to the same franchise, reads:
“You should be happy we allow you to participate. We know how to clip your wings. President and I have decided we will run the IPL the way we want to and after all its our property. You can either be a part of it or we can find a way for you to get out. We will throw Lalit Modi and anyone attached with him. So best avoid talking to him.”
The franchise in question has been sharing this communication with others; franchise owners are reacting in stunned amazement at what they perceive as the ‘unconscionable arrogance’ implicit in the tone and tenor of the communications.
Various franchise heads are understood to be putting their heads together to figure out a common response to the latest diktats from the BCCI; rapid developments are anticipated over the next few days.
Forgot the link
ReplyDeleteFrom Prem Panicker on Twitter.
Where is this article from, Pardesi? Source?
ReplyDeleteThis is just crazy, wtf. Btw, I don't know the ins and outs but why is this Srinivasan allowed to be both Secretary of BCCI and co-owner of the Chennai team? It's a major conflict of interest that he has say in the governance of other teams.
Also, I think this should be combined with the other thread to keep all the discussion in one place if possible.
Srinivasan and Modi had a fight which has lead to all problems .
ReplyDeleteI can mail the link and Tweet the link but I cannot paste it here - mobile posting is not all that! Just tweeted it so I can grab it if and everI get back my network. About consolidating with hockey win and CWG gold - your call.
ReplyDeleteNeo - Modi was playing games but Srinivasan is treating IPL as his jaidaad too, morons all
ReplyDeleteEmbarresment, but then with so much "Fake" money going around was bound to happen.
ReplyDeleteGod knows whats happening over here. There was a time I was excited for IPL, now I seriously want it to be disbanded, but I think major investment has gone in to do anything.
ReplyDeleteBCCI has clearly made the mockery of it, and they don't understand how bad it can hit them if teams join hands, go to the stadium but rather than playing, war black bands in protest of BCCI.
paisa ka khel hai..Jis din paisa ghayab sab bhaag jaayenge.
ReplyDeleteAND MORE:
ReplyDeleteSince the inception of the Indian Premier League a little over three years ago, Lalit Modi has run it like his personal fiefdom, carving out large chunks of the pie for family, friends and well-wishers. For the better part of two years, everyone — the Board of Control for Cricket in India honchos, large sections of the media, even the public — knew what was going on, but in the euphoria over the building of “the world’s biggest sporting brand”, they chose to turn a blind eye to behind-the-scenes shenanigans.
And then Modi [acting, ironically, on the advice of the then BCCI president] chose to out the Shashi Tharoor involvement in the Kochi franchise, and all hell predictably broke loose. I’ve chronicled that event, and all that happened since, so exhaustively that there is little point in an extended iteration. Net net, the single biggest outcome was the universal demonization of Lalit Modi, who was depicted as the source for all ills in the IPL, and by extension Indian cricket. The climate of the times demanded a scapegoat; in Modi, the establishment found a plausible one — plausible, because he had been engaged in so much that was murky, that mud would adhere naturally to his name.
Put that thought in your parking lot for a space.
When the BCCI yesterday announced the axing of Rajasthan Royals and Kings’ XI Punjab from the list of IPL franchises, the general feeling as gleaned from social media was one of schadenfreude. Serves Modi right, seemed to be the consensus — he used those franchises to favor his relatives, and fully deserves all that is now coming to him.
Here, I suspect, lies the danger — the BCCI has managed to set up Modi as a straw man and, while we happily aim our arrows at him, plays its own games in the background. Consider the following:
#1. Then BCCI president Sharad Pawar had, through relatives of varying closeness, acquired hidden stakes in various franchises both existing and planned. In other words, he was as guilty of conflict of interest as anyone else. That has been swept under a convenient carpet.
#2. Shashank Manohar, Pawar’s successor, was actively involved in ensuring that Kochi won the bid when two additional franchises were announced. He did this by first canceling the planned auction, on the morning of the event, on the grounds that the terms and conditions were restrictive — an action that makes you question how he failed to examine the clauses till the 11th hour, and what triggered the late wake up call. He then used his authority to ensure that the bid from Kochi, which came in a few hours after the deadline he was party to fixing, was accepted, with the paperwork backdated. At the very least, his activism on behalf of Kochi raises questions that he has shown no inclination to answer.
#3. And then there is N Srinivasan, currently serving as secretary of the BCCI and slated, one year from now, to become the next president, having narrowly [by a two-vote margin] won the election in late September. Besides his official role as secretary of the BCCI, Srinivasan is a member of the IPL governing council. He is also vice chairman and MD of India Cements, the company that owns IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings. And the fact of his wearing those three hats clearly spells conflict of interest.
Read more at this link:
ReplyDeletehttp://in.yfittopostblog.com/2010/10/11/the-ipl-fiasco-battle-royale-in-the-offing/
I think courts should take away the monopoly of BCCI to dictate terms on cricketer for whom they play, this will create rival leagues which probably will take all the focus from IPL. They virtually murdered ICL with brute force by forcing players not to play in that league.
ReplyDeleteHahah, who needs BW when you have such IPL drama. The latest is that Srinivasan is claiming someone hacked his phone! Hahahahahah
ReplyDeleteAfter angry team owners complained to the IPL governing council members this morning, the board issued a statement.
“The BCCI has just received information that some messages, allegedly sent from Mr N. Srinivasan’s cellphone to the IPL franchisees, are being circulated and talked about by the media,” it said.
“The board would like to clarify that no such messages have been sent from his mobile. This is clearly a case of foul play, and complaints to that effect are being lodged with the concerned mobile phone service, and the police, for immediate action.”
Srinivasan too told reporters in Chennai: “I did not send any SMS to anybody. Somebody has hacked into my phone, through the service provider or some technical means. Because it is not reflected in my service provider, I have complained to the police. Let us find out, you know, who has perpetrated this crime.”
Read full article HERE
From corporate crime to real crime, now we need a filmy detective...
ReplyDeleteGovt needs to stop giving BCCI the right to represent India .
ReplyDeleteBCCI should do the job and look at facts when they are presented not three years later. They are a joke. Whatever ghapla may have happened in the initial bids, deal with it then. Now the owners have spent time and money you cannot cancel a franchise 3 years after the fact. That is absurd and they may never get another venture like this off the ground if this continues.
ReplyDelete