February 02, 1958 archieve of Times of India: Indian Cricket and its 'Lack of Adequate Leadership'

The main trouble with cricket in this country is its deplorable lack of adequate leadership. It could have had this essential advantage, for we actually have among us the right people for the onerous duties involved, but they are never likely to assume their rightful places in the game so long as we permit our Board of Control to be dominated by vested interests.

...Indeed, this inimitable organisation has proved its indisputable supremacy in the field of sublime inactivity, surpassing even the three monkeys of symbolic fame, for whereas those delightful little creatures have abstained from seeing anything, hearing anything and saying anything through the ages, our paramount body has also managed to refrain from doing anything that would justify its existence.

Everybody...is by now aware of what is going on at Poona and the reign of terror the Maharashtra Cricket Association has established there and yet all that the President of our Board of Control has done thus far is to ask one of the top officials of the body concerned whether there is anything wrong in his particular territory! Whether he really expects to obtain an accurate picture of the prevailing situation through such a naive approach, I would be interested to learn. For my own part I can assure him that he will not succeed for I have spoken to the official in question and have realised he hasn’t a clue as to what is going on around him.

...There is plenty of talent in this country but rather than achieve anything tangible in cricket we shall have the unpleasant experience of seeing the progressive ruin of the game if we do not take immediate steps to place its affairs in the hands of people who can and will handle them in the right way.