IPL and black money

The Indian Premier League - Underbelly of Sleaze Money
By Madan G Singh

The Indian cricket league has fired the imagination of people all over the world. For once cricket which was poor sport in relation to golf and football has become at par with them. This is no doubt because of the Indian cricket league; cricket has become the power house of the game as far as finance is concerned.

But all is not rosy and underneath the underbelly black money and flaunting of foreign exchange regulations is perhaps more the rule than the exception. Some time back Mahesh Bhat that intelligent Mumbai producer had produced 'Jannat' a movie with cricket and its nexus with betting and match fixing as its background. The movie brought out the connection between black money and cricket.

'Jannat' was only a story, but the sad part is that it is turning out to be real. The toll has been heavy to start with. Shashi Tharoor the Junior Minister in the Indian cabinet had to resign last month. Whether he had any significant role to play or was only a front man may not be established. But the result of Tharoor's resignation has wide ramifications. Available evidence certainly suggests that all is not well with the financial dealings of the premier League.

The matters that need to be probed are no longer limited to the last auction where the Kochi team were the winners, but needs to cover the entire league which is under a cloud of suspicion. A clean up of the cricket establishment led by the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) and its child the IPL has become essential. The BCCI has acted and suspended Lalit Modi as the CEO of the ICL. But this may not be enough to find out the route of black money from the Gulf into this game.

Cricket in India is more of a religion and has a tremendous following. Thus when the idea of the IPL was mooted it was thought that it would give a much needed boost to cricket at the grass roots level. More money was expected to flow in and the lgame of cricket was expected to benefit with better pay packets for cricketeers at the grass roots level. But the organizers were perhaps too naive or careless and allowed slush funds and sleaze money to flow in as a natural corollary.

The Income Tax sleuths and the Intelligence Bureau are on the track. But seeing their past record not much can be expected,as the names involved are so big that the entire political equation will go for a somersault.

However the IB has confirmed that money has come in from the gulf. This is a disturbing thought and one is perturbed that a gentleman's game is reduced to such dire straits. It is a pity that an intelligent man like Shashi Tharoor also became part of this syndicate. But there are many more in the wings whose identity is hidden. The game needs to be nurtured carefully, otherwise the gains of the last 2 years may just be a mirage. The fear that gangsters holed up in the Middle East with their betting rackets may capture the league can not be dismissed out of hand.

Cricket is a gentleman's game and the world over is associated with fair play and good conduct. It will be a disaster if this noble game is allowed to degenerate into a haven for sleaze money and betting syndicates. The present lot of people at the helm has some hard decisions to make. Some steps have been taken like the suspension of Lalit Modi, but a lot more needs to be done. Will they have the courage for it? It will not be easy and the concerned persons may just be hoping that the dust settles down. If this happens there is a real chance that everything will go under the carpet. That will be sad indeed.