Pranav Gandhi: Cricket's big bully needs to draw the line
Cricket board versus the Mumbai police? My city's security wins any day
It's simple -- the police require every BCCI and Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) official, plus media members, to carry accreditation. They refuse to honor BCCI/MCA accreditation and require their own.
Too much of a fuss? Apparently for the BCCI and MCA it is.
I couldn't disagree more.
We live in a world filled with terror and security threats. Mumbai suffered a terrifying terror siege in 2008. If there is an attack or an incident at an IPL match in Mumbai, the police are the ones who will be wrung out and hung up to dry. If they don’t trust the BCCI or MCA accreditation then they don’t. Tough.
The BCCI and MCA are acting as if their accreditation is sacrosanct.
The officials of the cricket associations aren't experts on security, the police are, and yet they are trying to threaten their way through.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police for operations in Mumbai, Rajkumar Vhatkar told TOI, “The accreditations BCCI issues can be duplicated and as such a police verification becomes mandatory.”
The argument should stop there.
If the man in charge of the security of thousands of people says we need to do something, we just do it. We don’t challenge his authority. If this is impacting the day-to-day work of the BCCI, as they say it will, then they need to become more efficient.
The problem stems from the fact that the board thinks they are above everything.
It is one thing to be the most powerful cricketing board in the world, the big bully in the playground. It is another matter when you feel you can bully the police.
When the BCCI is hosting such a lucrative, high-profile, international sporting event such as the IPL, one would think they'd be thankful to the Mumbai police for working extra hard to ensure security.
If I were heading the BCCI I would simply say to the police, "Tell me what you need and we will support you."
Instead, here we are presented with the exact opposite.
Five more IPL matches, including two play-off ties, are scheduled to be held at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium between May 2 and 25.
But the fact remains that the BCCI controls the ring of power. They control the one common thing that is dear to every Indian -- cricket. They know that threats like moving matches out of Mumbai hold a lot of weight.
As expected the issue was resolved by Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil on Friday and matches will stay at Wankhede.
"It was decided to deploy security in a manner that will have minimal inconvenience to those who have been accredited. The issue has been amicably resolved and now the matches will go ahead according to schedule," the minister told news reporters.
When asked how, he said tersely, “The issue has been settled to the satisfaction of everyone. There is no need to tell the media as to how the stalemate was brought to an end.”
I have purchased tickets for some of the remaining matches at Wankhede Stadium and would have been livid if next month's two play-off ties (on May 24 and 25) had been shifted to Bangalore. But I would rather the matches move to another city than have the Mumbai Police buckle under the pressure of the over powering BCCI.
I'm a cricket fan and as far as I am concerned the board can take their matches and play them wherever they want. The security of my city is far more important than a cricket match.
