Cricket as a game is far more superior than any individual playing it. A player can be a superstar, but he/she will never be greater than the game itself. And if the same continues to happen, it becomes really important to give the person a reality check. Disciplinary action against players is necessary and helps the players to remain grounded. There have been cases of many players who have been at the receiving end of the disciplinary actions. The very recent addition to the list are the names of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan. But the question still prevails, on whether it was a good decision, or the two are just the scapegoats of politics which revolves around the game?

To understand the issue in detail, let us first know what exactly happened. All the players, be it the former India players or the current members of the squad, excluding the ongoing national playing eleven were told to play the Ranji trophy. And similarly, Ishan Kishan was repetitively told by the selectors to play in the ongoing Ranji Trophy. But in spite of all this, he decided not to play. On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer, who was a part of the ongoing India England test series, suffered a minor niggle and was dropped from the Indian side. He was also told to join his Mumbai Ranji squad. But citing injury reasons, he said he won't play Ranji. But clarification from NCA doctors had Iyer in trouble, who said he was fit to play and not playing in Ranji trophy is his own decision.

Both the senior players setting a wrong example by not playing in the most prestigious domestic tournament, irked the board. And there were rumours about the board excluding these two from BCCI Central contracts. And it turned out to be true as the richest board in the world retaliated by dropping them from the central contracts in any category. The board, who lately start to realise the importance of domestic circuit over the cash rich Indian Premier League, did the right thing by taking a disciplinary action against the senior players. This action will certainly be a lesson for anyone and everyone who willfully decides to not go by the traditional yet proven method of performing in the domestic circuit.

But the bigger question which arises is, how did the players get the confidence to not follow the guidelines given straight by the board. And can really the players be blamed for choosing IPL ober domestic circuit ? The answer to this might be a little complex. While one agrees that the players are at fault, it is a result of the over importance given to the cash rich league by the BCCI for a longer period of time. The IPL led to the players increasing their followers, as well as exponentially multiplying their net worth. The popularity and money it gives is a major factor why the players don't want to miss out on the opportunity to make a good living out of it.

And if the overseas players can prioritise IPL over their international schedule at times, when Indian team members doing it at the cost of few domestic matches is certainly not wrong as a human. If a corporate employee can switch his job for just a few thousand rupees more amount he is getting, we can't term him wrong for grabbing the opportunity that lies in front of him. Similarly anyone prioritising IPL, over Ranji matches, without affecting international schedule is certainly not wrong on a personal level. The main issue here is the unnecessary weightage given to the IPL by the board itself. If the board itself is seeking a 3 month window period for the league, and are thinking to have it twice every year, then the priorities of the board are clearly visible.

And when board themself focuses on the franchise league, it certainly isn't wrong on the players' part to choose IPL over domestic. And although the disciplinary action against Iyer and Kishan doesn't harm them much, it is noteworthy to see that why only few players are at the receiving end of it, while others doing the same thing are getting A grade contracts. If the board was firm on their decisions, it should be applicable for everyone in a similar way. However, punishing only a few, and ignoring the mistakes of some other players doing the exact same thing show a bias towards someone. And the bias and petty politics are equally bad for the game, as is the senior players skipping domestic circuit.

Hence, when one looks at Iyer and Kishan, it seems like the move is much more a part of scapegoat politics to hide their own mistakes, and also hide their hidden idea to promote their favourite players. Scapegoat politics has unfortunately prevailed for a long time before this saga, and Hanuma Vihari was at the receiving end of it just a couple of days back. While the board is now serious on asking the senior players to play the Ranji trophy, they should firstly question themselves for being over focused on IPL and not giving importance to domestic tournaments like Ranji trophy. And finally if they realise the importance, the apex council should treat all the players with equal rules, regulations and consequences for every similar action. No one knows on how long will the scapegoat politics will end in future, but one can hope it happens soon, and also one can hope to seen even the senior players actively take part in domestic like Pujara does.