Cricket board blasted in India after English whitewash

NEW DELHI,  (Reuters) – Infuriated by India’s  humiliating 4-0 series defeat in England, the local media lashed  out at the cricket board today, accusing the governing body  of pursuing riches instead of developing the test team.
The 50-over world champions arrived in England as the  top-ranked side in test cricket but their consistent poor  displays, coupled with a spate of injuries to key players, led  to India’s first series whitewash in 11 years.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s first series defeat as captain pushed  India down to the third place in the rankings, described as “A  Crying Shame” by the Times of India, which held the Board of  Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) responsible for the debacle.
“BCCI stands for Board of Control for Cricket in India. It  could even be referred to as Bombastic, Callous, Chaotic and  Incorrigible,” it blasted, a day after England secured a fourth  crushing win by an innings an eight runs at the Oval.
“Post India’s world cup victory, the board had the ideal  chance to show the world that it was serious about not just  generating 70 percent of world cricket’s income but about  creating a congenial environment for the team to prosper in the  longer format too.
“Instead of giving new coach Duncan Fletcher a side that was  fighting fit to take on a buoyant and in-form England outfit,  they made all the key players go through IPL (India’s lucrative  Twenty20 league) just six days after an emotionally and  physically draining World Cup.”
The Hindustan Times called the body a “Board of No Control”,  lamenting its lack of professionalism and providing graphic  details of how Australia, England and South Africa run their  cricket boards.
The newspaper held BCCI, “flush with cash, bereft of proper  management”, responsible for India’s “England Bummer” as the  tourists appeared helpless in their attempt to prevent the hosts  from marching towards the top of the rankings.
For a change, the players were spared, many sympathising  with them for being put through a punishing schedule.
India’s world cup victory was preceded by a tour of South  Africa and less than a week after winning one-day cricket’s  biggest trophy in Mumbai, Dhoni and his men were playing in the  Indian Premier League (IPL).
A tour of the West Indies soon followed and by the time they  landed in England, most of the players were either jaded or  injured.