Chaos, Confusion rule supreme in BCCI meeting

I was among the hordes or heard – depending how you perceive the mediamen – journalists who were stationed in a Delhi hotel to cover Tuesday’s BCCI Working Committee meeting.

You some times can’t help but be sadistic. Graham Ford, have no doubt, proved a chicken-heart. One of the sources informed Ford was given 20 per cent more than what he demanded, was happy with one-year contract and the terms and conditions.

“He then said he needs to consult his current employer, Kent. We asked whether it was a matter of ‘if’ or ‘when’ he can join and Ford said ‘when’. BCCI Treasurer N Srinivasan later told in the press conference.

But what scared away Ford is something a gobsmacked BCCI could not fathom.

BCCI thrives in a world that is chaos and the creation never follows. There was no scheduled time for a press briefing and when they eventually opened the door for the briefing, it was mad rash and a lady journalist almost got trampled in the near-stampede.

After waiting for more than five hours, the questions were naturally tinged with extra dose of hostility and aggression. The lady scribe was determined to make Srinivasan admit Ford’s snub was a slap across BCCI’s face. Srinivasan eventually snapped at one point and retorted “I’m not on a trial here Ma’m.”

The provocation, however, came from Raj Singh Dungarpur, who ensured his share of limelight with an impromptu just outside the toilet.

“Indian cricketer never had a greater embarrassment,” he said, and said he even tried to persuade John Wright for a second stint, which the affable Kiwi politely declined.

Every foreigner in the eyeshot became a possible coach and at some point, one journalist hopped into the hotel elevator with a slightly limping foreigner to find out if he had anything to do with cricket. The foreigner turned out India’s soccer coach Bob Houghton! He inquired what was going on and told that BCCI was headhunting for a coach, he said, “Cricket is a craze in the country. No wonder, half the country seems here.”

Image