Jay Shah’s era of calm consensus and cricket’s missing nay-sayers

Cricket’s era of unanimity is well and truly upon us. Jay Shah’s unchallenged elevation as ICC chief confirms a radical shift in a sport with a history of acrimonious battles between administrators. Be it his appointment as the BCCI secretary or his ascendency as the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president, Shah continues to be a consensus candidate.

Shah’s firm grip on the BCCI and India’s intimidating influence over the game has made the cricket’s election process redundant. This week, the ICC didn’t even need to go to the voting stage to figure out the outgoing chairman Greg Barclay’s successor. It was the same at the BCCI and ACC. This was the third time in 5 years a distinguished cricket body had unequivocally thrown its weight behind the 35-year-old Shah.

It is learnt 15 of the 16 ICC board members from across the globe nominated Shah to take over the reins. The lone exception was the Pakistan Cricket Board representative. Those in the know say that even Pakistan’s opposition was a mere formality. For political and diplomatic reasons, they couldn’t be seen backing India at any forum.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah and captain Rohit Sharma.

Periodically, PCB does make noise when BCCI refuses to travel to Pakistan but eventually takes a silent U-turn and shifts India’s game to a neutral venue. That’s what happened for the 2023 Asia Cup they hosted and a similar sequence of events are expected to unfold for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan next year.

Pakistan, a nation at its lowest ebb, doesn’t have the strength or the voice to put up a real fight against India. England and Australia – the erstwhile super powers – are just a shade better. They have made peace with playing second fiddle to the deep-pockets from India.

Within the BCCI, an organisation overwhelmingly dominated by the ruling BJP, Shah’s writ runs large. The once powerful regional satraps – the powerful businessmen, legal luminaries, state-level political heavyweights – have gone into a shell. They don’t waste their time by holding secret meetings to plan coups. It’s futile. Of late, Indian cricket is a one-man show run from the world’s largest cricket stadium at Ahmedabad. Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Nagpur – they had their time and say, but that’s history. These days the once mighty centres dutifully toe the line – rather fall over each other to cozy up to Ahmedabad.

India’s Head Coach Rahul Dravid with BCCI Secretary Jay Shah during celebration after India defeated South Africa in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final cricket match, at Kensington Oval, in Bridgetown, Barbados. (PTI)

What about the non-BJP political bigwigs with interest in cricket? There is the senior Congress leader and BCCI old hand Rajeev Shukla but he is anything but a rebel or an alternate power centre. The boardroom rivalries are over. These days a BCCI AGM comes across as a get-together for cricket officials to catch up over tea and cookies.

This saccharine sweet bonhomie among Indian cricket officials is in contrast to the bitter dogfights of the past. Reporters on the BCCI beat talk about the by-gone years of factional fights, king-makers, deal-breakers, turncoats, back-stabbers and horse-traders, almost with a sense of longing and nostalgia. They miss the intrigue, the tattle-tales and the news breaks.

Back in the day, BCCI elections used to be an event. There would be an air of anticipation with the candidates dreading the unseen and unexpected. A twist in the tale could never be ruled out. No candidate was safe.

The only election that the Grandmaster politician and the ‘almost PM’ Sharad Pawar has lost in his life has been the one he fought to be the BCCI president the first time. This was September of 2004. Pawar had the backing of formidable cricket officials – N Srinivasan, Shashank Manohar and Lalit Modi – who in years to come would shape cricket’s future. Srinivasan and Manohar went on to be ICC chiefs and Modi disrupted cricket for good by thinking of T20 franchise cricket. However, their combined might couldn’t defeat the Jagmohan Dalmiya backed presidential candidate, Ranbir Singh Mahendra, son of Haryana heavyweight Bansi Lal.

India’s Head Coach Rahul Dravid and team captain Rohit Sharma with players Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja and BCCI Secretary Jay Shah during celebration after India defeated South Africa in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final cricket match, at Kensington Oval, in Bridgetown, Barbados. (AP)

The voting list from the election that could have been easily confused for some parliamentary panel quorum. It had Arun Jaitley, Rajiv Shukla, Dr Farooq Abdullah and Lalu Prasad Yadav. There were others too with ambitions. Inderjit Singh Bindra, AC Muthiah and Raj Singh Dungarpur – all former BCCI presidents. There were litigations and last minute attempts to stay in the polls or challenge a candidature. Rivals would try to shout down each other to make their point.

Even at ICC, the decibel levels at meetings were not too different. India and Pakistan would join hands and the Asian block would fight tooth and nail to end the Anglo-Australian duopoly. The proceedings would even get ugly. Dalmiya at one of the meetings would deliver a famous quotable quote – “In the past England used to rule the waves, now they waive the rules.” The claps and hurrahs from the sub-continent officials would bring the roof down. It’s these small triumphs that finally led the BCCI to win the ICC war.

Election day at both ICC and BCCI has now been replaced by a slow synchronised chorus of “ayes”. The end of hostilities and common consent is conducive for good governance. Shah has the house on his side as everyone is a loyalist now. Going purely by options, everyone seems to be on the same page.

At a time when cricket gets ready to take the Olympic vehicle to travel to uncharted areas, the end of in-fighting is a positive sign. But this serene atmosphere of harmony comes with a rider and possible collateral damage. Cricket’s all-encompassing congeniality has ended up killing dissent. The nay-sayers, said to be the moderators of extreme beliefs, are no longer seen on the cricket circuit. That noisy bunch acted as the rail guards and kept those in power under check. The rebellion has ended. RIP the rebel, thanks for the services and memories.

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