The best miss out to the rest in the Indian cricket board

A television channel slugged their discussion show "One man against a billion", suggesting that the removal of N Srinivasan as president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would be a panacea for all the ills currently afflicting the game in the country. During his stint as president, Srinivasan made little effort to cultivate the media. That aloofness has now become a stick with which to beat him, with journalists and other board members seeing the recent spot-fixing scandal and the alleged involvement of his son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan , as the perfect excuse to ease him out. Aiming for the man at the helm is tokenism at best, and opportunism at worst. The rot affecting Indian cricket goes very deep, and it won't go away with a change of president. It is not as though the men lining up to replace Srinivasan are paragons of virtue. Most are carpet-bagging politicians who got into administration only because of the vast riches at the BCCI's disposal. The entire system has to cleansed. The same men asking for Srinivasan's head were the ones who thought nothing of changing the BCCI constitution so that officials like Srinivasan could become owners of IPL franchises. Five years ago, when men like Lalit Modi okayed the clause, no one spoke out about conflict of interest. The BCCI's very structure – with an election every September that sees more intrigue than a Steig Larsson novel – is rotten. The culture of buying votes has ensured that the best men seldom make it to the top. Only the best manipulators do. Indian cricket is currently paying the price for that. Follow us

The best miss out to the rest in the Indian cricket board

The best managers seldom make it to the top. Only the best manipulators do. Indian cricket is currently paying the price for that, writes Dileep Premachandran.