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Thakur wants ICC to avoid Indo-Pak ties in group stage
MUMBAI: The mounting cross border tensions between India and Pakistan has started to take its toll on the cricketing ties between the two nations.
MUMBAI: The mounting cross border tensions between India and Pakistan has started to take its toll on the cricketing ties between the two nations.
With the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Anurag Thakur already ruling out any bilateral series with Pakistan in the backdrop of recent terror attacks, Thakur, who is also a BJP MP, on Friday said the powerful Indian cricket board will also request the International Cricket Council to not keep the two cricketing nations in the same group.
“Keeping in mind that the government has adopted a new strategy to isolate Pakistan and in view of the public sentiment in the country, we request ICC not to put India and Pakistan in the same pool of the multi-nation tournaments,” Thakur was quoted as saying by PTI.
The PTI reported that the Indo-Pak issue was discussed on the sidelines of the Special General Meeting here at the Cricket Centre.
Ironically, India will start its Champions Trophy title defence against arch-rivals Pakistan at Edgbaston on June 4, 2017. The ICC, however, in last June clarified that the teams are grouped on the basis of the eight teams’ rankings as on 30 September 2015. To ensure that the two groups are balanced, the ICC ensures that the sum total (achieved through team’s ranking) of each group is 18.
Meanwhile, Thakur and the BCCI top brass avoided the media after adjourning Friday’s crucial SGM. The adjournment may invite fresh troubles for them as it may lead to contempt of court with the BCCI failing to accomplish the Lodha Committee’s first set of timeline. “It is certainly a contempt of court. It is up to the Lodha Committee now what action they take,” a source close to the panel told Hindustan Times.
The meeting was adjourned on technical grounds as the state representatives did not have an appropriate letter of authorisation. It is learnt that at least 15 state association representatives did not have a proper authorised letter. The meeting will now be held on Saturday.
As soon as the meeting was convened by Thakur, it was pointed out that one should check whether the authorisation letters are appropriate. The meeting was adjourned as almost half out of the 30 members did not have a proper authorisation letter.
“Some members were not carrying a hardcopy of the authorisation letter, while some letters were not worded carefully. The letter did not mention that so and so representative is authorised to take the decision,” senior BCCI official Rajeev Shukla said.
While the improper authorisation letter is cited as the reason for adjournment, many members did not seem to be entirely convinced with it. BCCI members whom HT spoke to were surprised with so much scrutiny. “There has never been so much emphasis on the authorisation letter before. May be the BCCI lawyers are being extra careful and taking every precaution before the members make a big decision,” said a member.
The SGM’s single point agenda was to “consider directions of Justice (Retd) Lodha Committee in connection with the formal adoption of the new Memorandum of Association and Rules for the BCCI”.
