Jagmohan Dalmiya’s first stroke as the BCCI’s acting captain turned out to be a poorly-timed reverse sweep that left both the muck and the carpet exactly where they were. In Chennai on Sunday, BCCI office-bearers sat quietly as he suggested cricket’s latest innovation: a five-minute delay between the action and the ‘live’ broadcast.
This, according to Jaggu dada and his supporters from the eastern seaboard, will paralyse the bookie-network. It will clean up cricket.
In reality, it is just a poor shot—for no run—played only to show apparent intent. If there is anyone the BCCI is remotely accountable to, it is television companies that buy telecast rights.
Multi Screen Media (Sony), the IPL’s official broadcast partners, will shell out a whopping Rs 8,200 crore for the nine-year deal that runs till 2017. Repeated attempts to contact MSM chief executive Manjit Singh didn’t yield fruit, but dna did speak to the COO of a top sports broadcaster. “I’d fume if I were Manjit Singh. This is ridiculous. Does Sony’s contract with the IPL/BCCI say anything of this sort? Since when has the BCCI started taking up the role of law enforcement agencies? Their job is just to conduct the matches.
Leave the rest to the cops. And how could Dalmiya even think of making this suggestion?
Does the BCCI want to take millions of viewers for a ride?” he asks.
But wouldn’t it be worth it if it rids us of fixing?
Khushroo Dhunjibhoy, chairman of the Royal Western India Turf Club, says such a step will, to some extent, reduce the chances of spot-fixing. Horse racing is, of course, the only sport in India where betting is legalised. Nevertheless, it isn’t a corruption-free sport.
“It needn’t be five minutes; even a 30-second delay could serve the purpose. Maybe the idea is to put impediments so that the bookmakers don’t have their way,” Dhunjibhoy says. Adding: “Nothing can ever get cleaned up completely. And spare a thought for the viewer. It would be a crying shame if a game is not telecast live.”
At the same meeting, Dalmiya also suggested cellphone jammers be installed at stadiums; and that cheerleaders, strategic timeouts and after-match parties all be done away with. “How can you bar cellphones in today’s day and age? Let them take some productive steps like asking spectators to register their cellphones before entering the stadium. You can’t just jam the network,” Dhunjibhoy says.
Senior lawyer and former IPS officer YP Singh called Dalmiya’s proposal a “publicity stunt”. “These are tactics used by the BCCI to divert everybody’s attention from the main issue. Installing mobile jammers at the stadium is against the fundamental rights of spectators. Also, it will violate the Telegraph Act,” Singh warns. “What does someone do in case of an emergency? Even the suggestion of deferring or delaying the live telecast will violate the rights of the viewers.”
If the BCCI is serious about curbing this menace, then they should fund the police force, Singh says. “The airports have their own security. Likewise, the BCCI should also have their own police force.” A senior police officer, who is part of the ongoing probe into the spot-fixing scam, said the BCCI’s suggestions will not be effective. “Based on the investigations so far, it is quite clear that matches are fixed much before they take place.
Even spot-fixing is carried out days before the match. So these suggestions of installing cellphone jammers and deferring the telecast is not going to help,” the officer said.
Vindoo, Guru get bail
Actor Vindoo Dara Singh and CSK team principal Gurunath Meiyappan were released on bail on Tuesday. They were arrested last month in connection with the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal.
Vindoo claimed innocence and said he neither spoke to MS Dhoni or his wife Sakshi. He added that Meiyappan, Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf and two bookies, Sanjay and Pawan Jaipur, were his friends.
Meanwhile, the Delhi police have sought custody of Ramesh Vyas, who was coordinating telephone lines that connected Pakistani and Dubai-based bookies.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}