Guha's letter makes us ask: Has even 'The Wall' crumbled to BCCI's corruption?

Rahul Dravid is certainly a cut above the rest. The dignified and sober Karnataka icon has been an icon of the 'Gentleman's Game' for nearly all of his career, and even post his retirement. 

However, it would now seem that perhaps even he is not above the grey aspects of the game. A new allegation has emerged against him, and though it is mild in comparison to the ones before others, is still a major one for the 'The Wall'. After all, while 'big' corruption is all about fudging hundreds of crore, it is such little things that prove how rotten an entity really is.  

To recap - The Supreme Court decided to run the BCCI via a committee of administrators (CoA) in February of this year. The 4-member CoA featured former Comptroller and Auditor General of India Vinod Rai, historian Ramachandra Guha, managing director of Infrastructure Development Finance Company Vikram Limaye and former Indian women's cricket captain Diana Edulji. 

However, a short three months after the four were supposed to set right the crooked ship of the BCCI, Guha resigned and posted an explosive tell-all letter as his resignation. 

The letter, which lays several allegations against the BCCI, MS Dhoni, Sunil Gavaskar and Virat Kohli, also mentioned preferential treatment doled out to an 'Indian coach who also coaches an IPL team'.

Most media outlets and those in the know about cricket feel this could only be one man - Rahul Dravid. Dravid is the coach of the under-19 Indian team and the IPL team Delhi Daredevils. 

And the allegations do ring true. As Guha points out - it is strange that the BCCI would allow players to create contracts that allowed them to both serve India and the IPL, sometimes by skipping the former for the latter. 

The letter also highlighted, rightfully, that if someone wants to work for Team India, then his or her full attention and time should be focused on the country. They should not be allowed to draft '10-month contracts' or even skip national events to attend IPLs. 

Like mentioned earlier, the allegation is mild. The under-19 team and the Delhi Daredevils have not particularly suffered under Dravid. They have done reasonably well. And besides, the other allegations are better. What is a little moonlight for the IPL in comparison to say, getting a Rs 2 crore contract when you are not even playing in Tests? (Dhoni). 

Perhaps this is a sign of how deep the rot in the BCCI goes, with everyone cutting some corners simply because others are cutting down whole forests. 

After all, it is strange that someone as famously 'proper' as Dravid would not see the inherent conflict of interest. But if such behaviour is both encouraged and wides-spread, how can we expect Dravid to be any different? 

Dravid is yet to react to the claims, so perhaps he will acknowledge the conflict at a later time. After all, his actions were never a 'state secret', just one that didn't raise a red flag with most people. 

But it still sad to know, even 'The Wall' crumbled before the BCCI's shenanigans. Are there no gentlemen left in the game? 

• Rahul Dravid
• BCCI
• Ramachandra Guha