It might not say it in so many words but it is the strongest assertion of power from the board in recent times and a clear acknowledgement of the fact that it has taken serious note of the attitude of some senior players.

This is probably the most strident move by the board against the players since August 1989, when it banned six players - Dilip Vengsarkar, Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Arun Lal, Mohammed Azharuddin and Kiran More - from playing international cricket for a period of one year after they participated in a series of unofficial matches in the USA. That came at a time when the players were talking about protecting their player rights and forming an association. The six players challenged the ban in the Supreme Court, which applied the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act to rule in their favour.

Though it's farfetched to see the board actually banning or fining the two players they have issued noticed to, the board has backed the accent on youth that Dravid and Greg Chappell have been talking of for a while now.

There's a strong chance that several senior players will be rested, at least for the one-dayers, in the forthcoming tour of Bangladesh. This means that players like Manoj Tiwari and Rohit Sharma will get a chance to dislodge some of the established members of the team. Strong
performances could well ensure that they get a look-in when tougher tests confront India later in the year.

It's tough to say whether Dravid has got all he wanted. But one thing is clear: The players have got a strong signal - pull together, win matches, and you will be rewarded. The board will not stand by and watch wheels within wheels undermine the efforts of some members of the team.

It feels good to read about what is written now. Hope, like any other good thing, time will not consume all the seriousness and good work done now and 'attitudes and tempers' may not reduce the team to loose its masala and revert it to ordinary one!

Absolutely right! The senior players in our team have been spoilt for too long. It is time that they be taught a lesson. India should consider the Australians, where if a player performs below average consistently for some time they drop him, be it Mc Grath or be it Hodge. I would also like to point out that I am skeptical about the changes that will actually take place at the grass roots level in Indian cricket. Most of the proposed changes will never be excecuted. I am also very dissapointed that the B.C.C.I has not approved of the Indian Cricket League

The BCCI has for the first time shown backbone in taking the tough decisions.Their tactics,strategy and finesse deserves commendation.So far everybody was on the gravy train and nobody wanted to rock the boat.The players were made to feel larger than the game by the Media.Now they are hoist with their own petard.By limiting endorsements BCCI is sending message that a Cricketer has earned because of his Cricket and his focus and goals must remain solely on the Cricket field.Also senior players must devote more time to promote their skills and fitness and less time in playing Politics.
Now we will see those who have been disenfranchised ganging up to take on the Board,however they will fire their volleys from someone elses shoulder.So be ready to see a battle of Proxies.
On the side of Senior players the main batsmen will be Media Channels,Ad Agencies,Sports Consultants and other associated Dalals of the game.
On the side of the Board is Public Opinion as for the Public,Cricket is a noble game played by Men with character.They will overlook everybody making Tons of Money as long as Cricketers do their job and perform on the field.If focus of player shifts away from the field to Money Public is uncompromising.
Subhas Chandra of Zee is going to fish in troubled waters but Board has shrewdly canalised Public anger to garner support.For the first time Indian Public's ire is aroused.They want Return on their Investment.
This World Cup defeat will lead to Reforms and accountability.It will ring the deathknell for Star Power.We could very well be seeing the dawn of a new era.

It is indeed heart warming to see that cricket is getting importance at the end rather than fading superstars...But one thing that i would like to point out is that, the backing Rahul Dravid is getting is not the best of ideas. He is no where near the calibre of Sourav Ganguly in terms of tactics or ruthlessness. He is a solid batsman who puts up inspirational show with the bat when needed. But cricket is not a one man show and he himself doing the job is not effeciency at all. What we need is a strong motivator and man with bags of innovative tactics and ideas.So i wish BCCI will look into this soon.

BCCI has acted in a foolish way. How can the Indian team which won the one-day series againt Sri Lanka and West Indies, but lost one game against Bangladesh to be knocked out of the World cup, require all these drastic measures. I stringly disagree with the BCCI on its endorsement restriction. When all the sportsmen around the world are earning through endorsements, Indian cricketers are not different.
I think BCCI showed to the whole India, how immature it is.It is a sad day for Indian cricket.

I think the article has rightly analysed the present situation. India is a country where demi gods like Sachin,Saurov and Dravid rule the cricketing circuit.Bord has done a right job by giving show cause notices to sachin and yuvraj.I dont belive in any pirticular player as such,though Dravid is from my state, he has to be more proactive in captiancy than he is now.He is a very good player but he has to speak out to players and get them straight.Ganguly was a great captian, i believe but the way he played the last mach with Srilanka in the world cup i think he has to be given a serious talk.I am not talking about his batting.He bats well only for him self same as with sachin,but he has a very bad attitued i have seen him many times when any wicket falls and people congragulate and enjoy he was not at all in the group.Dravid had served him so well when he was the captian and i think it is time for Ganguly
to show what a good player and a gentleman he is b.Greg Chappel rightly pointed out that attitued is more important than talent.

Mr. Vasu, Why is that the BCCI and yourself are just singling out Tendulkar and other senior players and not Chappel. Isn't BCCI wrong in that even though Chappel also leaked his opinion to press, no warning was issued to Chappel. I think that the board and yourself have just lost it

It's about time the BCCI did somethiong about the player's attitudes, they take their positions for granted and arent really willing to work for their position. Look at sehwag for example a man who was without a century or decent runs for eighteen months and he took was allowed to stay within the team, now in my opinion that was stupid. Secondly is the fact that the players dont concentrate on the cricket side of things as much as their superstar status. The adverts and posters they take part in is something the board needs to take control of, as far as i am concerned they should ban players from doing these adverts. The board is getting strict with the players and its about time.

We should measure only one thing i.e. Wins or Losses.

Players perform to what is being measured. Therefore stop measuring centuries and fifties and boundaries and fours and total runs or matches played etc - the meaningless historical statistics which are no indication of a player's current form, attitude or future performance.

The one who wins matches is senior - else he should be kept out of the team.

On Sachin's retirement - Retirement and Selection in the team are being confused by the media - He can decide when he wants to retire, its his prerogative. However, he should not be selected in the playing 11 since he is not performing. He has not been winning matches for us over the last 10 years. Certainly a spent force - as far as winning matches are concerned.

Many thanks for your excellent article Anand. Much of what I wanted has been promised by the two day review and no doubt further small but hopefully significant changes will be made along the way. This is a way forward for Indian cricket and my only remaining hope is that everyone will buy into the master project because without willingness nothing will be attained. The debate on whether some senior players should retire etc will continue to rage but these distractions should not be allowed to detract from the clearly signposted way forward.As a fan of Indian cricket, I cannot wait to see the outcomes.

Overall your article is right on the money. However, I will believe these changes when they happen. There appears to be several senior/junior members of the team who have their own disruptive agenda. They should be dealt with summarily. While I recognize the PAST contributions of Sachin and Ganguly any objective assessment (minus the irrational dramatic emotional devotion) of their present skills would require that they be dropped. The move toward providing youngsters opportunities is the right way to go. What are we afraid of? losing? We are doing that quite nicely with the deadwoods anyway!

Good decision keeping in view the future ahead - guess things will work out for the good of the game in India.

The new payment system is brilliant! Especially, the fact that endorsements are limited, there is no difference between senior/junior, there is basic monetary security and team wins are rewarded disproportionately. This encourages the team to band together and win at all costs. Currently, one guy makes it big in a few matches, gets a semi-permanent spot, wins a lot of endorsements and has no incentive to make victories happen since he's making money either way. This will also apply pressure on the weakest links if the team is losing.

I, somehow, disagree with the author here. It seems that BCCI is still speaking chappell's words and they have not learned anything from the disastrous experience with Greg in last 2 years. I feel instead of believing whatever Chappell tells them, they should consult more with past Indian players. In my opinion there is no need to take drastic steps to revamp the team but lots needs to be done within BCCI itself. Also, It is very cleat that Rahul Dravid is not a perfect choice for captain and he lacks the instincts which captain of Indian cricket team requires. Right now, it sounds like immature thinking and illogical decisions by BCCI and I believe time will confirm this sooner.