The Modi government has tabled a forward-looking National Sports Policy in the Lok Sabha, promising to overhaul India’s sports ecosystem. Among its ambitious goals: making India one of the top 10 nations in Olympic medal tallies by 2036, establishing sports science institutes, identifying talent early, and mainstreaming sports education through National Sports Education Boards. These are welcome moves. The draft policy talks the language of transformation. But for all its high-minded aspirations, one glaring decision exposes its hypocrisy: the shameful exclusion of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The government’s rationale—that only entities receiving public funding come under RTI—is technically sound but morally indefensible. The BCCI may not take taxpayers’ money directly, but it earns billions off a sport that thrives on national sentiment, government infrastructure, and public resources. Indian cricketers wear the national colours, use stadia built on government land, and enjoy round-the-clock security courtesy of the Indian state. And yet, when it comes to public accountability, BCCI is treated like a private fiefdom. What’s worse, there’s deafening silence from the government on whether the new National Sports Policy and the long-stalled National Sports Development Code apply to the BCCI at all. One would expect that an institution flush with cash, operating under the cloak of a “private entity,” and minting money from a league as massive as the IPL, would be at the top of the list when it comes to transparency and governance. But no—the BCCI continues to function like an offshore sovereign entity in the heart of Indian democracy. Consider this: BCCI’s earnings from the IPL alone are estimated to cross ₹10,000 crore annually. Yet for years, it was classified under the “charitable trust” category and paid no taxes.
Has the new Sports Bill removed IPL’s categorisation as a ‘charitable trust? If so, why is there no public disclosure of the implications? Why hasn’t the government clarified whether BCCI will now be taxed like any other mega-commercial enterprise? An IIT alumnus recently pointed out that if BCCI were taxed appropriately, the government could fund the creation of 10 to 12 new IITs—a staggering indictment of India’s misplaced priorities. The taxpayer continues to bear the burden of infrastructure, education, healthcare, and sports promotion, while a private monopoly rakes in billions using the Indian flag and brand. The Modi government must answer: Why protect the BCCI from public scrutiny? Is it fear of political backlash? Or is it the invisible hand of power brokers within the cricketing ecosystem that continues to bend policy for personal and institutional gain? It is laughable that while Olympic federations and grassroots sports bodies are being audited, regulated, and micromanaged for every rupee they spend, the richest sports body in the country—arguably in the world—is handed a free pass. If the government is serious about sports reforms, it cannot cherry-pick accountability. The National Sports Policy speaks of “sports for excellence” and “sports for development”—lofty ideals that cannot coexist with a parallel, opaque regime of corporate cricket. Either all sports bodies are equal, or none are. This moment calls for bold political will. The Centre must move beyond technicalities and correct a moral wrong. Bring BCCI under RTI. Scrap the outdated exemptions. Mandate transparent financial disclosures. And above all, end the farce of treating cricket as some untouchable entity immune from public scrutiny. India’s athletes deserve better. Its citizens deserve better. And if Prime Minister Modi’s vision of a sporting superpower is to be more than a headline, then it’s time to clean the stables—starting with cricket. Hence, the Modi Govt Must Walk the Talk on Sports Reforms.
