About the time the BCCI decided to outcast Kapil Dev Nikhanj

There was a time when Indian cricket was synonymous with a man from Haryana. He was the true son of the soil, a man who built an empire of World Cup winners and a man who ruled the club of highest Test wicket takers.
Kapil Dev was, is and always will be an Indian sports icon and a legend. No ban will ever be able to rob him of his place in Indian sporting history.
His 175 versus Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup is the stuff of legend. His 5 for 28 in the Melbourne Test in 1980/81 to set up a famous win, in spite of a severe groin injury, is one of the most courageous performances ever seen. The day he overtook Sir Richard Hadlee’s tally of 431 Test wickets, all of India and indeed the world stood up in united applause.
Since that day in February of 1994, one could say Indian cricket has dealt Kapil Dev an unfair hand. When he was accused by Manoj Prabhakar of match fixing in 2000, no one from the BCCI stood up for him. Instead, a former board president labeled him guilty without delving too much into the available proof. As a statement, he resigned as national coach saying, “(I have) nothing to say about cricket to anyone after having severed all links with the game.” Almost no one could bare to watch as Kapil Dev broke down during an interview on international television, quite clearly a shattered man. That day, even the few cynics could question the integrity of the man.
Yet, he continued to be a persona non-grata with the Indian cricketing community and the BCCI until 2002 when he was named as the Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century. He described that moment as ‘his finest hour’.
Little did he know, the hour and the day marked just another chapter in the Kapil Dev vs BCCI saga. He returned very cautiously to the game, as a bowling consultant to the Indian team before their historic tour to Pakistan in 2004. Another couple of years later, he was nominated as the chairman of the National Cricket Academy. Today, even before the Haryana Hurricane could start to make changes in the NCA, he finds himself sacked.
The BCCI refuses to admit that it feels threatened by the rebel league. Meanwhile, Kapil Dev has continued to say that the Indian Cricket League is an organization that is exercising its right to conduct cricket matches across the country. Unfortunately, the BCCI has no time for some sound logic.
The BCCI treasurer N Srinivasan declared, “Every individual has the right to associate with the BCCI or any other organization. If he chooses to be part of any other organization then it is he who is leaving. If an individual chooses to associate with someone else it is his decision and we wish him luck. But he will not be a part of BCCI activities or derive any benefits from the BCCI.”
The BCCI has sent a strong message to the cricketing world: they are not afraid of posers and usurpers. It’s understandable why Dev can’t serve with both the ICL and the BCCI and he has quite clearly made his choice. Yet, one might ask what are the benefits that Kapil Dev has gotten from the cricket body since the end of his 16 year career?
Dev is no longer entitled to the Rs 35,000 (approx 900 USD) that is given as monthly pension to former Indian Test players by the BCCI. In all likelihood, he doesn’t need it. Yet, the sum was supposed to be for services rendered during his career when he was one of India’s leading cricketers. Sharad Pawar and company seem to have had a convenient lapse in memory regarding the 131 Tests and 225 ODIs he played for India. The BCCI might have forgotten Dev but it’s unlikely Indian cricket fans ever will.
When he stepped down as Indian coach in 2000, Dev had written to the BCCI, “I wish all my previous associates from the board and from the field all the best I only hope that if per chance I ever meet them, time will have washed away some of the wounds within me.” By dealing with Kapil Dev strictly, the BCCI might have made a point, but it’s also made sure those wounds will never heal.