Who is bigger: ICC or the game Cricket?

The recent controversy in which the International Cricket Council (ICC) asked its Chairman and former Indian Test captain Sunil Gavaskar to step down from its chairmanship has raised eyebrows of many in subcontinent cricketing world. The fresh flare-up is related to Gavaskar’s persistent remark on the entire cricket committee directly or indirectly that doubts the mannerism and hence the reaction of ICC flaunts a fear of losing its authoritarian approach.

The outburst by ICC can be best viewed with the fact that of Gavaskar’s recent comment as a newspaper columnist where he mentioned the growing supremacy of Indian cricket over Australia and England whom he described as ‘dinosaurs’.

“Gone are the days when two countries, England and Australia, had the veto power in international cricket, even though the dinosaurs, still trying to voice their prejudiced opinions in the media, may not open their eyes and see the reality,” Gavaskar wrote in a recent newspaper column.

Obviously that was enough to irritate the big boss ICC and intuitively ICC executive board’s move summoning Sunil Gavaskar to explain an apparent conflict of interests in his dual roles as cricket committee chief and a journalist. However, it is strange to hear ICC’s sudden reaction knowing the fact that Gavaskar has been a columnist even before his appointment as the chairman of the cricket committee.

This is not the sole reason that made ICC to come into fright but from the very controversial Sydney Test match between the Kangaroos and India where while commenting fiercely the former cricketer criticised the umpires and also the match referee Mike Proctor for being partial which was noticeable in front of the whole world.

The entire fact is that nobody can refute the growing popularity of cricket in subcontinent particularly in India. The new version of Twenty20 cricket with the BCCI sponsored Indian Premier League (IPL) is probably going to bring some revolutionary changes in cricketing world. Further the dominance of India in cricket as T20 World Champion and now the recent Commonwealth Bank Series winner defeating Australia too adds facts to its prominence.

Again BCCI President Sharad Pawar as the powerful contender for the next ICC chief in 2010 certainly causes jitteriness to the white dominance in ICC chair. In fact the committee should not forget that it’s an international body and as a democratic set up it should allow criticism from outside as well as from its own members.

Gavaskar, the first batsman to score 10,000 Test runs and being one of the successful cricketers has every right to comment for the betterment of the game and so the need for reform in ICC administration.

If ICC now argues on conflict of interest of Gavaskar’s chairing the cricket committee while, at the same time, working for a media outlet, then it should not forget that it is BCCI who sets the agenda of world cricket with its money power and such stand from ICC only further worsen its relevance as international cricket body.