AMONG the many newsworthy items in the Sunday Tribune last week was an intriguing piece about the so-called Guptarisation of cricket in South Africa.
It was based on an extract from Pieter-Louis Myburgh’s book, The Republic of Gupta, and told the fascinating story of how the notoriously scandal-prone brothers from Saxonwold have made telling inroads into the gentlemen’s game.
No one is suggesting there was any hanky-panky in the Guptas’ foray into the world of bats, balls and bouncers. The brothers just happen to have sharpened their wheeling and dealing talents to a fine art, having honed their skills in the boardrooms of state utility companies from which they secured multimillion-rand contracts.
All it took for the Guptarisation of South African cricket was a series of strategic sponsorship deals and it was game on.
Through their company, Sahara Computers, the Guptas now own the naming rights of three of the most famous cricket stadiums in the country, including Sahara Stadium Kingsmead.
And to facilitate this coup, they pulled off a public relations master stroke by roping in former national cricket captain Graeme Smith as Sahara’s “brand ambassador”.
Sahara couldn’t have chosen a better ally because Smith is said to have been the kingpin of a tight clique within the national squad.
How complete is the Guptarisation of cricket in South Africa is hard to tell, although the family did make significant alterations to the Protea team’s schedule for a tour to India several years ago.
What we do know is that the Guptas are certainly on a sticky wicket over claims that they exercise undue influence on critical decisions in government.
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa called for an inquiry into the allegations of state capture after Mcebisi Jonas publicly accused the Guptas of offering him R600000 in a black plastic bag to accept the finance minister position.
Against that unsavoury background, one can hardly blame cricket followers for being suspicious about future decisions in SA cricket, on and off the field.
Will the Guptas’ encrouching influence on the affairs of the CSA spill over into appointments at executive level? Will the day soon come when they have a say in the Proteas’ tour plans and itinerary?
Will they be powerful enough to influence the selection of the national team?
If I were AB de Villiers or Kagiso Rabada, I’d be wary of taking out the family garbage in black bags, lest people get the wrong impression.