Jagmohan Dalmiya - The Ringmaster. Review on Jagmohan Dalmiya

In the recent circus we are witnessing in Indian cricket circle, Dalmiya has prevailed as the grand ring master. The other characters participating in the circus have come and gone over the last 10 years, but the ring master's stronghold over the entire Indian cricket fraternity remains undiminished as ever. Hailing from a wealthy Marwari business family in Kolkata, Dalmiya inherited one of India's largest construction companies at the age of 19. But it was in the business of cricket that he was destined to make his name. And that he has, since Dalmiya has a major contribution in turning the BCCI from a loss making body into the richest cricketing board in the world. In this quest for wealth, however, Dalmiya has ceased to care about the performance of the cricket team which is the prime responsibility and prerogative of the BCCI.

The Indian cricket team has lost all but one of a dozen tournament finals it participated in recently. The captain is in such dire straits that a billion people are compelled to wonder if we are even playing a full 11 in the team - cannot count the captain in the playing 11 even if his name appears on the scorecard. It is clear that Dalmiya is the biggest party responsible for Ganguly's presence in the team today inspite of his miserable performance.

Dalmiya even had a 1 hour chat with Ganguly to help prepare his response to Chappell’s accusations - clearly suggesting that there is more going between the two than could be officially approved by the BCCI. Even though Dalmiya isn’t the president of the BCCI today, it is well understood that he holds the reigns to the BCCI president's chariot, and guides it at will.

He created a post as ''Patron-in-chief'' for himself to allow him to negotiate on several fronts on behalf of the BCCI. This is the biggest negative influence over the game in India, as Dalmiya is neither interested in forcing an improvement in the team's performance, nor will he allow anyone else in the BCCI to do it. The BCCI board is completely defunct - it's all run by the Marwari from Kolkata, regardless of what his designation is. The cricket team too, therefore, will continue to be lead by another Kolkatan, regardless of what his performance is. This is the grand circus of Indian cricket.

Thanx,

Deepak