It's time the BCCI wakes up to its responsibility; international commitment is an intolerable excuse to not send a team for the Asian games The Asian Games is a huge platform, second only to the Olympic Games, for countries to showcase their sporting talent and to win national honour and glory. The sheer emotion of any champion who hears the national anthem of his country played when he wins the gold is indescribable, and strong men (the expression 'men' being gender neutral) have been reduced to tears as the gold medal is being draped around their necks. The ebb and flow of camaraderie and fellowship in the Games village between sportsmen of different disciplines have to be experienced to be believed. But ufffd and here's the rub ufffd there are no commercial gains to be made by governing bodies when their boys participate in or even win, at this magnificent event. The whole of India has been stunned by the decision of the BCCI not to send a team to the Asian Games in China this November, especially when cricket will be played for the first time ever. To paraphrase an old saying, power and money corrupt ufffd and absolute power and money beyond the dreams of avarice corrupt absolutely. "International commitments" is the excuse that has tripped lightly off the tongues of the Pooh Bahs who rule Indian cricket. Indeed!! One understands that a failure to honour commitments to the ICC carries penalties and, from a general standpoint, such an action would be unacceptable from any responsible country. But what pray, prevents the Board from sending an A team to the Games? How come they sent a team to lightweight Zimbabwe? To assume that this was done because there is money to be raked in and a vote to be garnered is hardly cynical ufffd the murky doings of the Indian cricket administration are too well documented for that assumption to be seriously challenged. I believe that the gold inlay ivory tower from which the administration operates has blinded them to certain truths of life. Great wealth and power have been presented to the Board by default, courtesy the international betting community and the hysterical adulation heaped on our cricket teams and individuals by you and me. Except for the sheer brilliance of a Lalit Modi and to a lesser extent a Jagmohan Dalmiya, the Board has not exactly been heavy on genius over the years. It is time for them to wake up and smell the coffee. Such abundant gifts carry a great responsibility and to airily claim that "international commitments" preclude the Board from sending a team to the Games is intolerable to a country too short, alas, of sporting success at the highest level.

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It's time the BCCI wakes up to its responsibility; international commitment is an intolerable excuse to not send a team for the Asian games

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