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The International Cricket Council (ICC) needs to rein in the Indian board urgently to avoid chaos in cricket.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been showing its power once again. This time the target is Sri Lanka.
A $70 million (BD26.4 million) bailout plan offered by the BCCI may be welcome news for the Lankan board whose finances are not so healthy. But the repercussions of the deal will shake the foundations of cricket.
The Sri Lankans are slated to tour England next year for a Test series. If the BCCI deal comes through, then many of Sri Lanka's top players will be taking part in the Indian Premier League instead of touring England.
The English board would then rather prefer to scrap the tour altogether instead of taking on a sub-standard Lanka team.
This must not happen, as it will set a precedent for other teams to follow. With the BCCI and the ICC yet to decide on a proper timetable for both forms to prosper, there is bound to be many cases when players will choose cash over country.
Tests are the grand slam of cricket. This is the form where the men are separated from the boys.
The ICC has to act now instead of setting dates to resolve such pressing issues. ICC president David Morgan, pictured right, is now banking on Lankan board chairman Arjuna Ranatunga to step in and avoid a catastrophe.
Ranatunga is a champion of Lanka's cricketing cause. His decision to lift the ban on the rival Indian Cricket League players was commendable.
But the former skipper may find it difficult to battle the board and the government when it comes to money, and that too big money. The Lankan board has always been treated suspiciously so much so that the sports minister ratifies the team after it is chosen.
The ICC has proved to be an impotent body time and again. Their wait and watch policy has already damaged cricket in Zimbabwe.
If the ICC lets things drift, then Test and one-day cricket will become second and third choice. This will not only damage the game but also the players.
Technique will become a thing of the past. And over a period of time, some the world's best players will be reduced to sloggers.
Test cricket is still alive. The first Test between India and Australia drew a decent crowd despite the match not really living up to expectations.
The ICC is also aware that the Indian board is its richest member. That may be one of the reasons why it takes such a soft stand against the BCCI.
If the BCCI does not temper its greed for gold, then the ICC must act. They are the governing body of cricket and they must set the rules.
It is time the ICC got a bit of spine. Otherwise top class cricket will only be seen on the Cricket Classics programmes on TV.
