Sir — The Supreme Court has done well to take up the onerous responsibility of cleansing Indian cricket. If people like Mr N Srinivasan had called it quits when the allegations of spot fixing involving his son-in-law and the team he owns had first surfaced, things would not have come to such a pass.
It is important to remember that the apex court acted only after there was no other option left to make Mr Srinivasan and others mend their ways, and a petition had been filed in the court on the matter.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is a rich body which virtually calls the shots worldwide. However, the mandarins of the board choose to ignore the fact that cricket lovers of the country are responsible for the overflowing BCCI coffers. The Indian Premier league, in spite of the controversies surrounding it, has received unprecedented support and love from the people. The IPl managers, however, systematically cushioned their positions by doling out freebies to all those who mattered to them, including former cricketers, to buy their silence.
By pitch-forking Mr Sunil Gavaskar to bat at the top for IPl, the Supreme Court has vindicated the people’s feelings that politicians and businessmen should make way for people who have played the game at the highest level. Badminton and hockey saw this trend earlier, with mixed results. Though the court’s initiative is an interim arrangement, Mr Gavaskar should begin the IPl damage-control process.