The Hindu : Dinesh Mongia in, Laxman out of World Cup team

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002

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Dinesh Mongia in, Laxman out of World Cup team

By S. Sabanayakan

V.V.S. Laxman

KOLKATA DEC. 30. Punjab's top-order batsman, Dinesh Mongia, has been included in the Indian squad for the cricket World Cup 2003 in place of the Hyderabad batsman, V.V.S. Laxman, as the national selection committee, which met here on Monday, decided to overlook the chances of the Baroda medium pacer, Rakesh Patel. Otherwise, the team was on the expected lines.

The squad, announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary, S. Karunakaran Nair, has seven batsmen, four speedsters, two spinners, one all-rounder and one wicketkeeper.

The Board Secretary, who did not answer any question put to him by mediapersons citing the Board's policy, did say that the Indian squad would leave for South Africa possibly at the end of January. "You will come to know the exact date of departure once the team's travel plans are finalised."

Asked who had been named deputy to the captain, Sourav Ganguly, Mr. Nair said, "It should be Rahul Dravid."

Dinesh Mongia

The meeting, which lasted a little more than an hour, saw the five national selectors engaging Ganguly and coach John Wright in a telephonic conference before settling down to choose the 15 from the list of 30 probables announced some time ago.

Rakesh Patel, who went to New Zealand as the 16th member, did not make it because he had no support from the team management, according to a Board source. It was learnt that the deliberations centred on including Mongia in the place of Laxman.

The former national selector, Ashok Malhotra, when asked to comment on the squad, said, "It was on expected lines."

The team is: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virendra Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Yuveraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble, Parthiv Patel (wicketkeeper), Dinesh Mongia, Sanjay Bangar, Ashish Nehra and Ajit Agarkar.

BCCI to seek non-binding mediation

The BCCI, meanwhile, put the ICC Development (International) Limited (IDI) on notice, saying that it was seeking redress through non-binding mediation to resolve the ongoing contracts dispute. Jagmohan Dalmiya, BCCI president, said this here today while announcing his resignation from the World Cup Contracts Committee (WCCC) of which he is a member.

"Since the legality of the restrictive clauses in the contract is being tested by the BCCI, I felt that as the president of the Indian Board, it would not be fair on my part to remain in the WCCC. I, therefore, resigned this morning," Mr. Dalmiya said. He clarified that his resignation was not prompted by any committee member. Nor did the IDI Management ask for it.

Jagmohan Dalmiya

The BCCI had exercised considerable restraint despite provocations. In view of recent reports in the media by the IDI, the BCCI was compelled to invoke Clause 31.4 (C) of the Participating Nations' Agreement (PNA) that specifically provided recourse to non-binding mediation in South Africa.

The WCCC had rejected the requests of the BCCI and the Indian players on the restrictive clauses in the PNA and in the Player Terms on December 19, and this was upheld in the telephonic conference of the IDI Board of Directors on December 23.

"Despite our sincere efforts to resolve the issues in good faith and in the greater interest of the game, the IDI has unfortunately restrained the legal rights, liberties and entitlements of the BCCI and the Indian players," Mr. Dalmiya said. "It is a matter of record that the WCCC amended a few clauses in the PNA for the 2003 World Cup as a result of its discussion with the Federation of International Cricketers' Association (FICA). But the unreasonable and unjust clauses requiring the Indian players to breach their existing contracts had not been withdrawn. We feel that it has now become necessary to test the legality and the validity of the unjust clauses that tantamount to unfair restraint of trade."

"We feel that it is also necessary to test how and under what authority the IDI had given excessive rights to its sponsors, he said. "We are taking recourse to the disputes resolution procedure as per Clause 31.4 of the PNA," he said.

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