Historian Ramachandra Guha, a former member of the Committee of Administrators (CoA) that ran the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) during the reforms process ordered by the Supreme Court, has lashed out at the superstar culture in Indian cricket that has allowed top cricketers to have veto power over every decision.

In an interview to www.espncricinfo.com about his new book, The Commonwealth of Cricket, Guha lavished praised on former India captain Bishan Bedi but blames the Board, especially the Vinod Rai-headed CoA, for not showing enough spine to stand up to the likes of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli.
"When Bedi once gave a television interview where he said some sarcastic things, he was banned for a (Test) match in Bangalore in 1974. Players had to get more power, they had to get organised, they had to be noticed, they had to be paid properly, which took a very long time. The generation of Bedi and (Sunil) Gavaskar was not really paid well till the fag end of their careers," said Guha.

"But now to elevate them into demigods and icons -- one of the things I talk about is (Virat) Kohli and (Anil) Kumble and their rift (Kumble was forced to step down as coach after the 2017 Champions Trophy). How essentially Kohli had a veto over who could be his coach, which is not the case in any sporting team anywhere," Guha questioned the power given to the Indian captain.