Former Chief of Administration for The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Vinod Rai recently opened up about his time with India's cricketing board in his book “Not Just A Nightwatchman: My Innings with BCCI”. The 73-year-old was appointed by the Supreme Court in 2017 and was entrusted with cleaning up the BCCI and implementing the recommendations of the Lodha Commission.
Rai, who was also India's 11th comptroller and Auditor General, sat down with Sports Tak for an interview to discuss his role with the BCCI, the Kohli-Kumble rift and more:
Why the title “Not Just A Nightwatchman: My Innings with BCCI”?
I kept this title because a nightwatchman is when a non-regular batter is sent for the final few overs of the day just to play.
So, when I was informed by the Supreme Court that I will remain as the CoA (chief of administration), I was asked about my role. What I understood was that the Supreme Court has given us a direction that we have to implement in six-eight months. At that time I felt that the nightwatchman’s role will be played by me, and by October or December of 2017, I will be done.
But because we had to stick around for a couple more years, that is why the title “Not just a nightwatchman”
What was the overall situation between Kohli and Kumble? Did they talk to you?
On this issue, I hadn't spoken to Anil Kumble, but I did have a word with Virat Kohli because we were informed that there were difference of opinions in the dressing room. Then I spoke to Kohli, who was then the captain of the team. He told me that the junior players were feeling intimidated because maybe the discipline on them increased.
Players who are 22 to 23-year-old, if you try to discipline them, then you might face some resistance. We did not talk to them directly, but these were the issues that were brought to light. Our idea was that if legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman spoke to the team, they will be able to devise a solution for this problem. This is what I have written in the book, that I requested Sachin to talk to the players. I felt that if a legendary cricketer talks to the youngsters then it holds importance. And the junior cricketers will listen to them as well.
Would it be right to say that there was a direct rift between Kumble and Kohli?
This is not true at all. There was no opportunity for a rift between the two at all. No one ever told us about any issues as well. The captain is in one place and the coach stays in one place, and the coach is almost always a former player. There might be a difference of opinion. But there were no issues between them. It was all wrong speculation.
Was it possible that Anil Kumble could have applied to be the India coach again?
His contract did not have an extension clause, which is why we could not extend his contract. We wanted to give him a contract, but because there was a process that had been followed when he was appointed, we followed the same process. Because there should be consistency. Within that, we decided that if Kumble was willing, then we could appoint him automatically without an application. But he was a professional person. He said that if anyone had issues with me in the team then I will leave on my own.
Was it the team captain or the CoA who decided to appoint Ravi Shastri as the new coach?
It was neither. It is the Cricket Advisory Committee that selects the coach. The members were Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman. Would these legends bend to the opinion of Kohli? Definitely not. The selection that they made was well-thought. The CoA had no role to play in Shastri’s appointment. We just accepted their recommendation.
How would you describe your journey with the BCCI?
The Supreme Court gave me the privilege to manage the administration of the BCCI, but I have been following cricket for a very long time. I even used to play when I was in school. From the times of Polly Umrigar and Vijay Manjrekar, I have followed the sport.
So I was happy when they asked me to join the BCCI. I thought that this was a chance to bring some changes to cricket in India. My biggest wish was that the cricketers who make BCCI the richest board in India should get a lot of importance, which, I believed, was not being given. So we tried to make it more player-centric.
How tough was it for you to sort out the issues within the BCCI initially?
It was a challenge for the first three months. Because we took charge on January 30, and from February 2, the ICC meetings were kicking off. This is why we had to take permission from the Supreme Court to send one of our members Vikram Limaye to the ICC meetings.
But we handled that very well. We explained the revenue model. And because Vikram (Limaye) was able to do that groundwork, we got a very good deal from the ICC.
One opinion that came out was that we should not play Pakistan because the Pulwama attack had just happened, just before World Cup 2019. But if we do not face Pakistan in every tournament, then they will not face any troubles. We will only get disqualified from the tournament. This means that India will not be able to do well in any international game and we are one of the best teams in the world.
That is why, it was our opinion that there had been a security breach, so the security forces will give them the answer. We should face them in the field and on the field, we should defeat them. If we could have done that, it would have been better.
Moreover, conducting the IPL was a challenge because we were not much aware of the IPL, and there were some rumours that some state teams would not offer their stadiums for the IPL. But nothing like that happened and it became smooth again.
Do you think that the recommendations of the Lodha committee that you tried to implement are currently being followed by the BCCI?
The recommendations of the Lodha Committee were 100 per cent followed by us. You can see on the BCCI website that there was total transparency. We brought in the minutes We used to give details for all our expenses. All major decisions were uploaded on the website. Since then, although I have followed cricket, I have no ties with the BCCI. So if you ask me, I will not be able to tell you who the CEO is. This is why it wouldn't be right to comment on them because I don’t know what is going on there.
What was in your mind as the chief of the CoA when the current officials of the BCCI were appointed?
When the election took place we only organised the Annual General Body Meeting. It was a matter of happiness that five former players were coming into the BCCI administration - Sourav Ganguly, Brijesh Patel, Shanta Rangaswamy, Ashok Malhotra, and Rahul Dravid. These legendary players came into the BCCI because they had an idea of how to play cricket, how to support the sport, where to spend money and build infrastructure, and when the team is travelling, what should the support system be like?
I was very happy that many former players were now in the cricket administration. We left in a happy mood.
So the task that the Supreme Court had set out for you, that had been done from our side.
