(Image source from: Why Ravi Shastri should not probe Srinivasan?})
Is it possible for a loyalist to fairly investigate his employer for alleged charges of corruption? Can he judiciously investigate the case despite having publicly praised and defended his boss against the same charges of corruption in the past?
These are some of the pivotal the questions that ex cricketer Ravi Shastri faces now after being nominated by the BCCI to its three-member committee to investigate the charges against N Srinivasan, the suspended BCCI chief.
Shastri isn't just a paid commentator for the IPL and a member of the IPL governing council, but a BCCI loyalist too.
To a great extent, he ekes out his living through BCCI. His allegiance, hence, lies with the board — a thing he made quite apparent in his Dilip Sardesai lecture last year, “The BCCI has been a punching bag,” he said during the IPL spot-fixing scandal last year.
“I tell people that you got to see what BCCI has done for cricket. Unlike some of the other associations that are at loggerheads, here is one body that has consistently produced results.” What’s more, Shastri believes the board is above criticism from former players, such as himself.
“No matter how much you want to criticise, you have to remember, if they had not given you that first stepping stone, you would not have become the cricketer you went on to be.”
Can a champion of BCCI find fault with the board ? Not just that. Shastri has been equally vocal about defending Srinivasan too.
While the Supreme Court and the Bombay High Court have come down strongly on Srinivasan, Shastri lauded him as a "terrific administrator" despite two different corruption scandals in the IPL in the first two years of Srinivasan’s tenure. Nor does the fact that India has hardly won Test since Srinivasan took over as the BCCI president, losing 10 of their last 12 Tests in England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The only thing that matters to Shastri is Srinivasan is a “genuine cricket lover.” It's like the love for the game absolves all other crimes.
During the Dilip Sardesai lecture, Shastri also contentiously said that he would not have stepped down had he been in Srinivasan’s position. "If I were the BCCI president or the captain of a team or the head of my political party, I would never have resigned. That’s not the school I was brought up in. I would take responsibility and set the house in order." T
Clearly, Shastri owes his fidelity to BCCI and its fallen chief to be a part of any committee that investigates the IPL or Srinivasan. The conflicts of interest would clearly deter him from making an impartial judgment.
AW: Suchorita Choudhury
