Kapil's resignation: too little too late
Kapil Dev has finally made a decision that will win him a few hearts
Anand Vasu
12-Sep-2000
Kapil Dev has finally made a decision that will win him a few hearts.
One wonders whether it might be a case of too little too late. The man
who came in at 17/5 in a World Cup match against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge
Wells that the BBC thought was not important enough to cover and
turned things around by blazing 175 not out has decided to step down
as coach of India. In the past few weeks public opinion has been
veering slowly but steadily away from the all rounder. The president
of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) AC Muthiah is
under all sorts of pressure himself. At a time like this, Kapil Dev
did the only sensible thing possible.
Perhaps things might have been different if he had not wept
dramatically on a pre recorded television interview. Perhaps things
might have been different if former Indian captain Ravi Shastri had
not confided in a surreptitious video recording that Kapil Dev was
indeed involved in murky dealings. Perhaps things might be different
if the selectors had not dropped 'tainted' players from the Indian
probables for the ICC Knock Out Trophy. Perhaps things might have been
different if India had better results in the last year. But things are
not different.
The situation is dire. Just days before Kapil Dev announced his
resignation, Muthiah went on record to say that the BCCI might invite
him to attend the preparatory camp to be held in Chennai. At the same
time Muthiah said that the BCCI was looking to appoint a foreign
coach. What then would be the fate of the probables at the preparatory
camp? Would we be facing the unlikely scenario of a preparatory camp
without a coach? The name now being touted as interim coach is that of
former coach Anshuman Gaekwad. One wonders what he can achieve given
the fact that he is clearly only a stop gap measure.
One thing that is a bit surprising is the timing of his announcement.
Kapil Dev could have waited this long only in the anticipation that
his name would be eventually cleared by investigating authorities.
That has not happened yet. Although he came out of a meeting with the
Central Bureau of Investigation smiling broadly, there are still
several unresolved issues. The fact that Kapil Dev resigned is not
entirely unexpected. But what prompted this? What machinations
happened between officials of the Board, investigating agencies, Kapil
Dev and indeed powerful politicians of this country?
Very few people will be privy to that information. One will however
have to be satisfied with the knowledge that Kapil Dev has resigned.
That may or may not be a satisfactory admission of guilt. However, one
is willing to safely wager that a majority of the Indian people are
happy to see the back of Kapil Dev.