Will Kolkata embarrassment serve as wake-up call?

Barely a couple of months ago, India witnessed a race against time to get stadiums completed for the Commonwealth Games, which was being hosted in India for the very first time. And now, it is action replay just before the cricket World Cup. Eden Gardens has been punished by ICC for not getting itself in shape in time. Another instance where authorities have shamed themselves and the nation. The big question is when will such things end in India? Or will they ever?

Back in October 2010, as the whole nation keenly awaited India’s first ever Commonwealth Games, the authorities had messed up big time and not a single venue was ready on schedule. With just a few days to go for the Games, threats of call-off loomed large before last minute panic somehow did a bit of resurrection. Fingers were pointed in all directions and almost every angle was arrived at for the delay. Corruption, contractor issues, nature’s fury, etc etc.

But, what was the use? The damage was done. There was serious collateral damage meted out to India’s credibility. The nation’s ability to manage events came under question. A couple of months after the CWG debacle, the International Olympic Committee warned India of an Olympic ban if professional measures were not adopted sooner than later. The trust factor was vanquished in a matter of few days.

And if you thought only non-cricketing events are victims of unprofessional set-ups in India, think again. My mind goes back to two cricketing instances over the last year or so. First, to the Kotla ODI between India and Sri Lanka, which was abandoned midway due to a dangerous pitch. And a few months after that, the two ODIs against Australia in Kochi and Goa were abandoned without a ball being bowled after overnight showers. These matches were actually called off on bright and sunny mornings where even Sun God’s miracle could not save the day.

These are just a couple of recent instances that just show the systemic failure in Indian cricket. The problem lies with the way we look at such failures. Our tendency to look at them on a standalone basis and not as a collective failure is the root cause of the problem. For example, the Kotla episode was portrayed as a problem of DDCA but not a general Indian cricketing problem, which it actually is. Similarly, why should Kochi and Goa instances be looked at as small venue problems? This is where we tend to go wrong.

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Kolkata had missed multiple deadlines

Just look at the way cricket infrastructure set-up is there in a country like Australia. Every venue in Australia has uniform facilities and all venues look so similar. Be it a thunderstorm in Melbourne or Brisbane or for that matter in Hobart, the venue takes almost the same time to get back in shape for the match to resume and that happens really quickly. This is made possible because Cricket Australia looks at cricket as a unit in itself.

The other recent example of cricketing excellence if I may use that word, is something that happened thousands of miles away at the Centurion, which was witness to nothing less than a ‘human miracle’. Overnight floods in Johannesburg and Pretoria did little to kill cricket. Against all the odds, the authorities in South Africa had ensured play got underway and substantial time was spent out in the middle by both the teams during the first test of the 3-match series between India and South Africa. At that point of time, even Indian cricketers were surprised how it was made possible. And mind you, South African cricket board is actually a poor cousin of BCCI.

Flashback over. Coming to the present scenario. The ICC inspection team has been categorical in its decision to pull the India-England fixture out of Kolkata. What is most shocking is the fact that Kolkata missed multiple deadlines in the process. The ICC was visibly upset at the way Cricket Association of Bengal handled the situation. ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat over the last few months has been finding fans for the way he has been handling crisis-hit game of cricket. And his assessment of the Eden episode sums up the premise that led to the decision
“All venues had ample time in which to prepare for world cup matches. We had been understanding and had provided extensions to the deadline dates but unfortunately we are now at a point where we must carefully manage our risks. The COC had provided venues with a deadline of 30 November 2010 to complete all construction work and then to be match-ready by 31 December 2010. An extension was granted by the ICC for five venues, which were again inspected over the past week. Sadly, Eden Gardens in Kolkata was unable to meet the final deadline date of 25 January 2011,” Lorgat said.

Now, is the state of affairs of the other venues that are set to host the World Cup any better? Very difficult to tell but it will be absurd to think all the other World Cup venues who have cleared the ICC inspection process are monumental masterpieces. Indian cricketing venues still lack some of the basic facilities. Most venues still have the concept of ‘squatting’ stands, which is simply ridiculous. How on earth can you make a proper assessment of ticketing requirements for such stands. Doesn’t it lead to a risk of stampede? Add to this the fact that most Indian cricket venues are always in the process of some renovation or the other. There are serious risks involved at every such incomplete venue.

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Why is this happening?

There are two angles to the current problem. One is accountability or the lack of it in Indian cricket. There isn’t a single cricket association in India which has a professional set-up in place. These associations get the requisite funds from the BCCI but where does all the money go? And even for the money that is actually being spent on sprucing up the infrastructure, the way it is being spent is a matter of concern. And here the stress is on the quality of spend. No, we aren’t even talking of any wrongdoings.

In simple terms, it is all about project management. These are the days of the turnkey projects in the world. These are the days where flyovers are constructed at speeds that are at least 10 times faster than those about a decade ago. Then, in such a scenario why does a renovation of a cricket stadium miss the deadline? The problem lies in the management of the work-flow process. Professional management is the key to success.
What should be done to change this?

This problem needs to be arrested and that itself will be a process. There are no instant solutions but in the medium to long term, professionalism can embrace the way cricket is run in India. Orissa Cricket Association stunned everyone by appointing Michael Bevan as their Ranji Coach. That is a staggering move and in the right direction.

Every such small step can go a long way in ensuring Kochis, Goas and Kolkatas do not repeat themselves in the future. The need of the hour is for serious introspection as to why such things are repeating themselves in Indian cricket. The need is to accept this as a systemic failure and go about reforming the system itself than merely plugging the holes. Indian cricket cannot live on ‘M-Seals’. There is a need to have a permanent solution and that needs to happen now.