Date:06/10/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/10/06/stories/2006100604311800.htm

Sport - Cricket

BCCI in no mood to relent

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: The BCCI will not give in to any pressure on the question of signing ICC's Members' Participation Agreement (MPA), Board Secretary Niranjan Shah told The Hindu here on Thursday.

"We have made our conditions clear. You can talk about the deadlines but we will stick to our stand. Hopefully, we can resolve the issue," he said.

The BCCI has been given time till Oct. 10 by the ICC to sign the agreement pertaining to all the ICC events between 2007 and 2015.

However, the BCCI, if Mr. Shah's remarks are any indication, is clearly unruffled.

The temperamental flare-ups during the NKP Salve Trophy Challenger Series here have also not escaped his attention.

The incidents involving S. Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh on Sunday and Yuvraj Singh and Murali Kartik in the final on Wednesday, did not present the game in good light.

Call for restraint

"They have played for India together. They are prominent players and should be setting an example. They should restrain their emotions," he said.

Cricket Australia has told its players to improve on-field behaviour. Was the BCCI contemplating a similar move? "I don't think the matter is that serious. But I definitely plan to have a talk with the boys. They should realise that there are millions of viewers watching these games," he added.

On the issue of player contracts that will come up for renewal soon, Mr. Shah said: "Personally, I think it might not be right to announce the new contracts during the Champions Trophy. The announcement should be made after the Champions Trophy but before the tour of South Africa."