Mumbai:”Go and ask the person who has written the letter,” was the reaction of Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI), Acting Secretary Amitabh Choudhary when asked all about the mysterious letter from BCCI to International Cricket Committee (ICC), which had raised many eyeballs.
Choudhary was in town after BCCI announced that IPL Official Partner Tata Motors will promote their newly launched SUV, Harrier as their lead brand for the season.
He was asked questions regarding the letter that urged the ICC and its member nations to sever ties with countries that harbour terrorists, side-stepping queries on whether it was prudent to raise the issue. However, ICC turned down BCCI’s request saying it was not in their domain, and it was left to the governments of respective countries to take a call.
“I have been saying and I say it again, I have not written the letter, so how will I know what were the contents?” he queried when asked if Pakistan’s name was mentioned in the letter.
The letter to the ICC was the aftermath of the deadly terror attack in Pulwama that killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and for which the Pakistan-based Jaish-E-Mohammed took responsibility, was framed by BCCI CEO Rahul Johri in consultation with the Committee of Administrators (CoA).
When asked if there were any difference of opinions in the richest cricket board, he cleared the air while stressing, “I would like to put everything to rest that there is no difference of opinion”.
Talking about the tussle between BCCI and WADA, the secretary stated that, “That is an issue. The world body (WADA) has been in dialogue with ICC for some time and the issue is that all participating nations in the ICC must align with the national testing authority. The only member of the ICC which has so far resisted it, and for reasons unknown, is the BCCI and therefore there is a slight urgency on that matter.”
Besides the dates of the Indian Premier League still under fold (due to general elections), there is all likelihood, that the match timings will have a better dimension if Amitabh Choudhary is to be believed. “Yes, it has been observed that the 8 pm start has been inconvenient for many of the spectators getting back home, and in this edition of the championship, we should see some change and I am for the early start of the matches,” said Choudhary.
The issue of advancing the IPL match timings are also a work in progress, he said. “Last year, we had advanced the timings for the playoffs to start at 7 pm. We are still considering whether to advance it a bit or keep it at 8 pm because it also affects the afternoon game.
For so many years we have been playing 13 afternoon games (double-header) so it has an impact.
There is no reason why people ask these questions, he queried when asked if the election dates collided with the IPL schedule if the match could be shifted outside the country. “ IPL will be held in the country,” he added.
Regarding the team selections, he stated it was too early, as there was enough time to finalise the side. He said the selectors are working on the workload schedule of key Indian ODI players in view of the World Cup that immediately follows IPL from May 30.