Working committee to meet and discuss punitive action
Slapping a legal suit to claim damages as a result of the Windies cancelling their tour midway tops agenda when BCCI committee meets
Hyderabad: Miffed with the West Indies abruptly aborting their recent series with India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India is all set to put its foot down on Tuesday in an attempt to show the Caribbeans who the Big Brother in world cricket is when the all-powerful Working Committee meets to discuss punitive action.Slapping a legal suit to claim damages as a result of the Windies cancelling their tour midway owing to a pay dispute between the players and the West Indies Cricket Board tops the agenda when the BCCI big wigs meet here.
“The West Indies calling off the series halfway through has caused us huge losses. The Working Committee will deliberate and decide on the legal action to be taken against the West Indies board,” BCCI acting president N. Shivlal Yadav told this newspaper on Monday.The damages determined are approximately Rs 400 crore, the revenue BCCI would have earned in the 12 days of play that was purged. The number of matchplay days lost is after taking into consideration the five One-Day Internationals against Sri Lanka that have been squeezed in at short notice. The Windies left with three Tests, an ODI and a Twenty20 still to play.
The Committee “will also finalise the dates and venues for the Lankan series,” Shivlal said, adding, “The Tour Programme and Fixtures Committee may not be called for to decide the dates for just this one series as an exception.”However, three of the key members of the Fixtures Committee would be here anyway - convenor Sanjay Patel and chairman Rajeev Shukla are part of the Working Committee while South Zone representative P. Yadagiri is from Hyderabad, which should make it easier.
The IPL Governing Council will meet prior to the Working Committee to consider barring the Caribbeans from BCCI’s cash-rich league. However, the officials just might stop short of wielding the axe. “They could discuss the issue but I doubt they’ll be so harsh on the players. The IPL is already devoid of players from Pakistan and some key ones from England. Keeping the high-profile West Indians out as well would mean taking a fair bit of charm off the League,” a BCCI official said. Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith (Chennai Super Kings), Kieron Pollard (Mumbai Indians), Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders) and Chris Gayle (Royal Challengers Bangalore) are big draws at India’s annual cricket carnival.
However, the BCCI will make a strong push for ICC sanctions against the West Indies Cricket Board. Secretary Sanjay Patel is on record saying: “We will pursue the matter with the ICC. We may consider to not pursue further Future Tour Programmes with the West Indies.” That would effectively leave the West Indies board bleeding, given the astronomical broadcast rights money a series with India generates. With India’s N. Srinivasan at the helm of ICC, the Windies may well be bracing up for a violent storm.
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