The BCCI is a society registered in 1928 under an obscure Tamil Nadu Society Registration Act of 1860 and still retains its colonial –era constitution which makes it a closely-held private club. Paradoxically, it runs the most popular sport and represents the country at international events. As a private body, it keeps its functioning and its balance sheet under wrap but as a public body it organizes cricket matches at state-built stadiums and gets security cover free of cost. It has enjoyed tax exemption saying that promoting cricket is a charitable work but it makes tons of money by selling telecast rights, advertisement space in stadiums and now, auctioning IPL teams for obscene sums. BCCI’s income for 2006-7, that is before IPL was launched, stood at Rs 247.86 crore but not a pie has been paid as tax.

As the IPL scam now reveals, big money has brought more opaqueness to BCCI’s functioning. No less than BCCI president Shashank Manohar says he has no idea who the real owners of various IPL franchises are. Much less is known about the source of money that has been put in to run these franchises. One of the BCCI board member and governing council member of IPL, N Srinivasan, actually runs a franchise but Manohar says there is no conflict of interest! BCCI’s “national selector” K Srikanth acts as an appendage of one particular IPL franchise but nobody even questions him.

Is this the way we want cricket to be run in this country? Should we leave administration of the game we are most passionate about to a private club run by a few individuals who are more passionate about their sweetheart deals? Shouldn’t we nationalize the body governing our most popular sport so that there is more accountability and more transparency in the way its functions and people have their more say?