The BCCI’s attempt to gag contracted Indian cricketers from speaking to the media after tours has drawn flak from former players who have questioned the logic behind such a move.
Two top Indian players — Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara — have been cautioned by the BCCI for giving interviews recently in violation of their contractual terms which all the players doing national duty have signed. “The two players have been cautioned not to speak to the media immediately after the tour. BCCI Secretary Sanjay Patel had a word with them reminding them of their contractual obligation,” a top BCCI official said.
As per the BCCI contract, no Indian player is allowed to speak to the media one month before and after a particular tour. Altogether 39 Indian players are contracted across three grades with Grade A players getting Rs one crore annually while Grade B and Grade C get Rs 50 lakh and Rs 25 lakh respectively. But the clause seeking to gag players from expressing their views has not gone down well with some of the former players.
Ex-India cricketer Kirti Azad, who was a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, said there was no need for having such a clause at all. “I think this rule of not allowing the players to give one-on-one interviews should be done away with. Agreed media is present in large numbers but if someone has performed well, he should be allowed to speak as fans are curious to know what they feel and how much planning and hard work has gone into it,” Azad said. “I don’t think it’s fair to stop the media from interacting with players,” Azad said.
Former cricketer Chandu Borde did not see any logic behind the BCCI’s clause. “I don’t know what exactly has happened and the reason behind such a gag order. I presume the Board is taking some measures in such bad times for cricket. The sport has earned a lot of disrepute over the last few months with spot-fixing and now doping! Maybe it’s one way of a preventive measure by the Board,” Borde said. “But such things did not happen in our times; mediamen had free access to us,” he added.