The International Cricket Council (ICC) had in the just concluded quarterly meeting hinted that there should be a uniform policy in place for all T20 leagues. It also added that a cap could be put on the number of T20 leagues a player can participate in. But the move hasn’t gone down well with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as it sees this as an effort to get into the functioning of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Indian domestic T20 league is a property of the BCCI and the decision of the governing council is final in all matters pertaining to the tournament as per the constitution and BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry has made it clear that the international body should stay away from the Indian Premier League as that doesn’t come under the domain of the ICC.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry made it clear that the international body should not look to take advantage of the current issues within the board.

“The ICC is good with words but the substance of their intent is pretty obvious over the past couple of years. They see that for their purposes, the BCCI as an organisation in this period of transition, is not the force that it was. They see the issues that have existed with regard to the holding of the general meetings, the forum that decides on policy matters. Therefore, the ICC has been making a push, albeit a push camouflaged in pretty words, to intrude upon the sovereignty of the BCCI vis-à-vis the ICC,” he said.

He also wants a far more cautious approach from those representing the Indian board in the international council as the interest of the board should be of prime importance.

“Whether it is the attempt to govern the inter board relations or the attempt to gain granular information about the operations of the BCCI and its members and now the attempted intrusion in the IPL. Our representatives on the working groups don’t appear to be vigilant about the interests of the organisation.

“In my opinion, I think it is imperative for the BCCI to work as a single unit, at least with respect to the ICC and the international body should not be able to take advantage of the differences amongst the different entities of the BCCI that exist at the moment and for that to happen it is important to understand the clear distinction between matters of policy and those of administration. It would be prudent for the ICC to understand that as well,” he said.

“The BCCI will not take kindly to any attempt to tamper with the IPL in a direct or a roundabout manner.”

First Published: Mar 05, 2019 10:57 IST