Wednesday, Aug 21, 2002
Wednesday, Aug 21, 2002 |
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By H.S. Manjunath
The BCCI president, Jagmohan Dalmiya, said after the meeting that the heart of the matter was whether to field a team or not. The decision to go to Colombo was made solely on the conviction that the country should not miss the event by "default". In the light of the players' refusal to accept the conditions laid down by the ICC and which precipitated a crisis, the Working Committee decided to ask the National Selection panel to "identify" 20 probables, who would be required to agree to the ICC's "Players Terms" for the 2002 Champions Trophy only. The BCCI has made it clear to the selectors that the best available players should be picked. Mr. Dalmiya said the process of identifying the players was no attempt on the part of the Board to "close the door" on anyone. The announcement of the team would be held back till the last possible moment but the Board could not wait beyond a certain point. He expressed the hope that members of the Indian team, now touring England, would reconsider and declare their availability. While conceding that they had genuine concerns, he held out assurances to the players that the Board would stand by them if their commercial interests were jeopardised or if they were drawn into legal tangles with their sponsors. Asked how the ICC had responded to the latest crisis, he said the ICC chief, Malcolm Speed, had responded positively to a suggestion by the BCCI that the player's terms be made applicable only to the Champions Trophy so that enough room could be obtained for a negotiated settlement. Mr. Speed, while accepting the BCCI proposal, had indicated in his recent letter that he was keen to know the outcome. Mr. Dalmiya evaded an answer when asked why the BCCI had delayed its decision even though the ICC had made the player's terms for the main events known as early as in 2000. "For some reason or the other these issues were not taken up or possibly there could have been a slip, but now we cannot allow this crisis to deepen." He suspected the role of "self-styled agencies and players" in the present impasse. "Our discussions with the players have always been cordial and they have always responded positively but I really don't know what went wrong. I hope they will see reason." "I have made it clear to the ICC that this arrangement should not be held as a precedent and should only be binding for the Colombo event. This will give us more breathing space and all parties can go back to the table and re-negotiate or redraft the terms." Chandu Borde, head of the Selection Panel, is in the city along with two other Selectors, Ashok Malhotra and Shivalal Yadav.
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