Bishan Singh Bedi: Far too many people were trying to boss over this game

India's former cricket captain Bishan Singh Bedi spoke to mid-day about his experience in court and what he thought about January 2, 2017 – the red-lettered day in Indian cricket

India’s former cricket captain Bishan Singh Bedi was in the viewing gallery of the Supreme Court in New Delhi yesterday when a bench headed by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur axed Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke for not adhering to cricketing reforms drafted by the Lodha Panel

Bedi spoke to mid-day about his experience in court and what he thought about January 2, 2017 the red-lettered day in Indian cricket:

I fail to understand the high-handedness of the BCCI. Where was the need for it? Had they been a little grounded, things would not have come to such a state. ‘Let’s sit across the table and talk’ should have been the way to go. Let’s not confuse this modern-day conceit and arrogance with aggression. When you are dealing with a clean subject like cricket, there’s all more reason to be humble.
On one hand, I could tell that the arrogance displayed by the BCCI was not cricket. But when justice was delivered, I thought, yes, this is cricket!

Also Read: The rise and fall of sacked BCCI President Anurag Thakur

Far too many people were trying to boss over this game. Ultimately, cricket is the boss. You can serve cricket, not boss over cricket.

Also Read: Saddest day for Mumbai cricket: Sharad Pawar

Let’s be clear - no one is the hero in this case. Cricket is the only hero. Justice Thakur was only doing an honest job. He was wonderfully calm. His calm demeanor was impressive. He retires today. Supreme Court was not trying to bully BCCI. It was the other way round.

In an ideal world, a good cricketer is one who is a good student of the game; an administrator is a good servant of the game. The administrators ought to have been more humble.

I don’t view this clean-up as a triumph; we didn’t win a trophy. This was something which would make you realise there is something called truth and truth must prevail.

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