BCCI Grounds

Our political leaders are busy taking credit and expect their efforts to be lauded as they ferried a train from Mumbai to Latur, which is suffering from severe drought conditions with people searching even for drinking water. It is not an achievement on the part of the Govt. to provide water by train. I’d say it is rather the shoddy planning whether Congress or BJP that the State has to spend money for ferrying trains and it could not plan or act accordingly so that such condition may not happen.

Looking at the plight of the poor people of Maharashtra, an NGO filed a petition in Bombay HC to shift the IPL matches out from Maharashtra especially now since IPL has two teams from Maharashtra (teams have nothing to do with States but more so with their home ground).

Mukesh Ambani’s wife, Nita Ambani was traveling around Europe and witnessed how the club football created enthusiasm and united people across boundaries and she got her idea to float Indian Super League and now it has already run for three seasons. Perhaps Reliance knows and understand how to look at virgin markets and build them from ground up.

IPL Management has decided to look for an alternative venue for next season outside India. I mean there is one corporate who is trying to revive the culture of football in India. On the other hand, we are trying to deconstruct the culture of cricket in India. First time perhaps in sports that India took a giant leap and gave a new format, new version and style to play the game and more so, that the epicenter of cricket has moved from England to India.

The Court did make a vlid point. How can you (cricket associations and BCCI) waste water like this. People are more important or your IPL matches? How can you be so careless? Who wastes water like this? This is criminal wastage. You know what the condition is in Maharashtra,” a division bench headed by Justices V M Kanade and M S Karnik said, while hearing a PIL filed by the Loksatta Movement NGO. “Ideally, you should shift the IPL matches to some other state where water is in abundance,” the court observed.

BCCI submitted different plans and proposals for the Court to consider but Court wouldn't budge. BCCI gave an excellent idea to use sewerage treated water to water the grounds and the facility for the same has been established by the existing prestigious club in India to water its golf course. The Court questioned BCCI to compensate State for the water used during all the past IPL matches. Which should not be a hard thing for the BCCI to undertake given the fact that they are the richest body in India barring few temples?

The big question remains, why and how the situation has come to such a pass? Not State Government’s, we know them, they engage in damage control and quick fix last minute measures. But the BCCI could have acted at an appropriate time. State could have opted to spend all the taxes and the money received from IPL in setting up and controlling the water situation in the State of Maharashtra. Why the Court asked the BCCI to compensate State for the water and suggested the State otherwise?

Not to mention, IPL shifting out of India will be India’s loss on the cricketing arena and not to mention the fans and revenues accrued from the same and taxes paid to the Govt. to host such events. 

There are close to 50 international cricket grounds/stadiums in the country. The eight stadiums which are made the home grounds of the teams along with their names are normally hosting the cricket matches during other tournaments as well with few sundry or other matches are scheduled at few other locations. Why the process to engage other cricket stadiums has still not been included in IPL? Wherein the home ground is divided amongst two grounds in the State so that the chance to develop the game of cricket and upgradation of infrastructure is spread across the country but what is happening is instead the more money is pumped into the iconic cricket stadiums of the country. 

The High Court order of shifting all matches out of Maharashtra is a blessing in disguise for the BCCI to work on an alternate plan and agenda to spread the virus of IPL across the country. Take the Chandigarh, it helped Dharamshala stadium and the town just by shifting two - three matches in past few IPL seasons. Amritsar can be developed as another alternative ground for Chandigarh, which gives considerable boost to the economy and the culture of the city. 

Mumbai already is in severe grip of cricket fever, why not host few in matches in Nagpur or Goa. Similar should be the case that the matches are spread which will benefit the franchises in increasing the fan base and building different entertainment and lifestyle on the basis of their team’s theme.

But just in case, BCCI decides to move IPL out of India, there should be another petition in the Supreme Court with the Court to keep the tournament in India. VIVO is the chief sponsor of IPL, the forex earnings of the country is going up. Plus the expenditure that the foreign players and visitors spend in India. BCCI perhaps can host few matches outside India in every season again to increase the fan base and the loyalty but logistically implementing the same will be a challenge. 

But in the meantime, IPL should stay in India and the idea of alternate grounds to home for every team should also be developed. The Govt. should work with BCCI to provide sewerage treated water to water grounds at every ground in the country.