The kudos have come flying thick and fast for AC Muthiah and the Board of Control for Cricket in India over the past 24 hours. The BCCI is a body that has had more than its share of ridicule from players and public alike. Encomiums have been rare in coming its way so perhaps it is understandable if the president and his much maligned body consider this to be the finest hour in the history of the 71-year-old board. From the International Cricket Council to former cricketers to the media, the praise has been virtually unanimous and almost gushing. Indeed, one can almost see Muthiah and some of the board members blushing!

A red letter day may be a cliche. But sometimes such hackneyed phrases can best convey the mood. Yesterday at the start of the press conference called to announce the punishments, Muthiah was sombre. "This is a sad day in the annals of Indian cricket," he said with some feeling. Midway through, he again expressed the view that he was sorry to make the announcements detailing the life bans on Md Azharuddin and Ajay Sharma and the five year bans on Manoj Prabhakar, Ajay Jadeja and Ali Irani. But at the end of the press conference as he took leave from the mediamen, he was all smiles. Muthiah was obviously relieved at having got the whole thing over with. It had taken him some time but Muthiah finally got the public mood in the country right.

Then again, perhaps Muthiah had always got it right but with the kind of pressures he was confronted with, it had been a hard balancing act. There were pressures from within the board, political pressures and the pressures from being a charge sheeted person himself by the CBI in the SPIC disinvestment case. Finally another cliche prevailed - justice delayed is justice denied. And who can contest the truth behind this seemingly trite saying? Indeed, the delay had been agonising for everyone as the BCCI continued its wishy way . But then in India, the wheels of justice take some time in getting a move on. No matter. In the eyes of the cricketing public, justice has finally been done.

But wait. The dust may not have finally settled down even after the board's momentous ruling. Muthiah might feel that the decision will have an impact and act as a deterrent. "Considering the importance of the issue, we took the matter in its entirety and found the players guilty as they conducted themselves in a manner prejudiced to the game. We also gave due weightage to the contributions made by them but finally took the decision keeping in mind the interests of the future of Indian cricket," he said on Tuesday. But the immediate future may be quite disquiet. It is unlikely that the banned players will take the punishments lying down. Muthiah might feel that after taking opinions from some of the leading luminaries in the legal business, he is sure of the stand the board has taken. The door however is open for the players to appeal to the BCCI or any court of law and the first salvo in this direction was fired by Manoj Prabhakar on Wednesday. Alleging that it was a BCCI official who had introduced him to betting, the former Indian all rounder said "I won't name the official but the BCCI knows who the person is." Jadeja was another one who hinted that he may take recourse to legal action to clear his name. "I will explore all avenues to restore my credibility. I will knock at the doors of the BCCI and if need be, go further." Not to be outdone, Ajay Sharma has said he will consult his lawyers for further action. And one can be sure that Azharuddin will also opt for some kind of legal recourse.

So the dust has certainly not settled down on the controversy with the board ruling. A few lengthy episodes may be over but the soap opera is likely to continue. To paraphrase Winston Churchill's famous speech, "it is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end. But it is perhaps the end of the beginning." And Al Jolson's historic words "Wait a minute, folks, you ain't seen nothin' yet" from the 1927 landmark movie "The Jazz Singer" is quite apt to describe the current scenario. But for the moment, these are times to savour for the BCCI - and deservedly so.

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