New Delhi: While it may be a tad melodramatic to suggest that Indian cricket is at the crossroads — yet again — there is no doubt that Sunday’s special general meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India could at least in the short term, define the country’s relations with the wider cricketing community.
Sensing an opportunity to hit back at the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators, a group within the board is pushing for India to pull out of the forthcoming Champions Trophy in retaliation for the International Cricket Council’s rejection of an India-backed revenue sharing model.
According to reports, ousted BCCI president Narayanswami Srinivasan has emerged as a pivot of the pullout campaign despite CoA head Vinod Rai’s public stand that no decision that can hurt Indian cricket should be arrived at in Sunday’s SGM, to the extent of approaching the apex court if needed.
Wire reports on the day suggested that there are two distinct camps in the BCCI now, with state units from North and East zones keen to field a team for the tournament where India are defending champions, and South and West zones keen to teach the ICC a lesson since India’s financial clout underwrites a large share of global cricket activity.
As of date, India have not even named a team for the tournament in England with the deadline for entries well past. Two days ago, Rai as good as instructed BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Choudhary to convene a meeting of the selection committee to pick the squad as soon as the SGM gets over. He has also met with representatives of state units to gauge their stand on the pullout issue.
According to PTI, acting BCCI president C.K. Khanna hd said that May 8 was the team selection which was rebutted by Amitabh Chaudhary, leaving another board office-bearer to suggest, “If Amitabh doesn’t convene the meeting, there is every possibility that CEO Rahul Johri will instruct (chief selector) M.S.K. Prasad and Co. to announce the team”.
Other issues discussed by Rai and the BCCI office-bearers on the day included implementation of the Lodha Committee reforms, including the still debated one-state, one-vote rule, among others.
