Govt. directive to cost BCCI $300,000

By Our Special Correspondent

VISAKHAPATNAM, APRIL 1. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday received a letter from the Government asking it not to take part in any cricket tournament in non-regular venues such as Sharjah, Singapore and Toronto for three years.

The terse letter from Mr. H. S. Kingra, Director, Sports Ministry, put an end to the speculation and suspense over India's participation in the Coca Cola Cup in Sharjah from April 8 to 20. The event will now be a three-nation tournament involving Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. According to the contract between the BCCI and the Cricketers Benefit Fund Series, the April event was the last tournament India was committed to play in Sharjah.

The financial loss to the BCCI following the Government order is to the tune of $300,000 after the guarantee money was increased last year. The three beneficiaries, Mr. Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Mr. Farokh Engineer and Mr. Chetan Sharma will not get the benefit purse of $35,000 each.

Pakistan is not the bone of contention any more. The situation has changed since the Government refused permission for the Sahara Cup in Toronto last September and the series in Pakistan. India was scheduled to play three Tests and one-day internationals in Pakistan before the series against Australia.

According to reliable sources, the Government believes that non- regular centres such as Sharjah, where India has for the last 17 years been a big attraction because of the large Indian expatriate population, is a hotbed of betting and match-fixing.

There were speculations that two other ministries were amenable to the BCCI's request for clearance of the tour sent on January 9. But the Sports Ministry's order once again has driven home the message that Indian cricket will be better off should it snap relations with Sharjah cricket.

The Government order has come at a time when the Singapore Cricket Association (SCA) and Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA) was planning to stage a three-nation series featuring India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the third week of May. As a result of the Government decision on Sunday, the Indian cricketers will get a welcome break from April 7 to May 26 before they leave for a 50- day tour to Zimbabwe for a three-Test series and a triangular featuring Zimbabwe, West Indies and India.

Government's decision: A C Muthiah's reaction

`A loss for former cricketers'

In Chennai, the BCCI President, Mr. A.C. Muthiah, said the Board would accept and abide by the Centre's decision.

By not participating in the Sharjah tournament, he said ``former Test cricketers will be the losers since we have been nominating a few cricketers every year for receiving some benefit from the tournament''. In view of the Government's decision, the Board would explore the possibility of making alternative arrangements to help players, he added.

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