In the ongoing process to end the suspense on India’s tour top South Africa, Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Sanjay Patel Cricket met South Africa Chief Executive Haroon lorgat on Monday to consider India’s tour to South Africa later this year. BCCI has objected to the length of the itinerary already announced by the South Africans.
If the meeting on Monday was expected to find a solution, it simply didn’t as the BCCI is just not making any commitment, and therefore the decision may only come after the Board’s annual general meeting in Chennai on September 29.
South Africa have no option but to wait. The acrimony between CSA (read lorgat) and BCCI is now well known. While lorgat is looking to save the tour, BCCI has plans of a tri-nation series featuring Pakistan and Sri lanka in December. “I am happy to say that we had a constructive meeting and I would like to thank Sanjay for his friendliness and support in trying to find a way forward,” lorgat.said. “After listening to Sanjay, it is clear that we will now have to wait for the BCCI’s AGM to be completed before any tour schedule can be confirmed,” the former ICC CEO added.
“It is key for all of us to make sure that the good relationship between our respective Boards is maintained and, in fact, strengthened and that we also honour the proud history between our two countries,” said lorgat.
The Dubai meeting was expected to yield an element of finality. It clearly didn’t. The BCCI is currently in a state of chaos. The IPl corruption scandal and a battery of court cases involving BCCI president N Srinivasan has left the Board in a massive state of anarchy. There are murmurs of dissent and it is still not clear if Srinivasan will get a year’s extension as Board chief. His two-year term comes to an end in September.
Will a change of guard help South AfricaIJ Can South Africa afford to cancel the entire seriesIJ There are several questions doing the rounds and the odds, ironically, are clearly stacked against the world’s No 1 Test team.
‘MCA requested BCCI for SRT’s 200th Test’
Mumbai: Mumbai Cricket Association has formally requested the BCCI to allot the second and final Test between India and the West Indies to the Wankhede Stadium here so that Sachin Tendulkar could play his milestone 200th Test before the home crowd. “We have put in our request. If it is going to happen, then we should be the first claimants. We would like to have it over here since he is from Mumbai,” Savant told reporters here on Tuesday.
...BCCI yet to decide
Kanpur: Former BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla on Tuesday said that the board has not yet decided which city will host Tendulkar’s much-anticipated 200th Test.
“BCCI has not yet decided which city will host Sachin Tendulkar’s 200 Test. Many state associations have shown interest in hosting the much-hyped match but BCCI is yet to arrive at a decision. Every association wants that Sachin achieves the historic feat at its stadium,” Shukla said. “Kolkata and Mumbai are the strong contenders. Eden Gardens has a sitting capacity of one lakh, while in Mumbai we have around 65,000,” he added.