Either can survive as the other lives

UMPIRE'S POST

Voldemort foolishly created his own nemesis, Harry Potter. Is the BCCI likewise sowing the seeds of its own downfall?

In the fifth Harry Potter book, we get to know of a prophecy that ties the boy wizard's fate inextricably with that of the Dark Lord, Voldemort: "Neither can live while the other survives."

The prophecy does not mention Harry by name. It merely talks of one born at the end of July to parents who had defied or escaped Voldemort three times, and one who would be identified and marked by Voldemort himself.

It could just as well have referred to Neville Longbottom (born on July 30, a day before Harry). But Voldemort chose to hunt down Harry, a year-old harmless toddler, marking him with a scar. In the process, he attached some of his powers and a part of his soul to Harry. The exact choice of the nemesis was made by Voldemort himself.

To bring you back to familiar environs, the Board of Control for Cricket in India is doing a Voldemort by hunting down the still-born Indian Cricket League. The league, set up by Zee Networks chief Subhash Chandra, plans to start in October this year as a 20-overs-a-side tournament.

The only notable name it has enlisted, who can still be a formidable player, is Brian Lara. The rest of the known names retired years ago and will be administrators and coaches.

The BCCI, on the other hand, has been entrenched for over 75 years, boasts of the best international and domestic players of the country, and several tournaments. It is the world's richest sports body and has broadcasters and advertisers eating out of its hands.

Yet, it has, since the day Chandra announced ICL, eyed the league warily. In the last few days, the board has made it clear that a player associating itself with ICL will not play any match controlled by BCCI, domestic or international. As if this was too subtle, the board's vice-president, Rajiv Shukla, clarified: "Such players should not have any expectations from us."

This reeks of insecurity. The board, which once argued in court that the Indian team was actually a BCCI XI and not the national team, is going the way of all monopolies in trying to snuff out the first hint of competition.

The league may or may not serve Indian cricket. But it can definitely serve cricketers, especially the domestic journeymen, who are good players but will never represent India for a variety of reasons, one of them being BCCI's wayward ways.

It is also a boon for international players who have recently retired while still the mainstays of their teams. BCCI, in hunting down ICL, may be writing a prophecy that has yet to be made.