After the KSCA elections, Harsha Bhogle had a fascinating set of interviews Anil Kumble, Sanjay Manjrekar and Prof. Ratnakar Shetty on his ”Time Out with Harsha Bhogle” online talk show. While cricketers have been in charge of cricket administration in the past, including in Karnataka, I was struck by what Manjrekar and Shetty had to say about Kumble, Srinath, Dravid and their team.
Manjrekar, in particular, pointed out how Karnataka cricketers in the last two decades seemed to be more curious about and aware of how institutions function when compared to cricketers from other states. For instance, he said, they know how the managing committees of state cricket associations function and he implied that this knowledge explains the electoral success of Kumble et al in the recent elections. If they succeed in their mission, it will be because of this awareness and intellectual curiosity.
Having come off age in a rapidly globalizing and cosmopolitan Bangalore, which had opened itself to the rest of the world, this group is quite well educated and tech savvy. Their cohort of childhood friends and classmates has settled all over the world and brings to them an awareness of the world that is quite different. This I suspect is what they have added to their earlier reputation as gentlemen cricketers.
Addendum: While Kumble didn’t have any specifics on what they plan to do at KSCA, he did say something very interesting, and indeed a very welcome measure: that his team is actively considering changing the bylaws to introduce term limits (two terms) for KSCA office bearers.
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