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| November 28, 2001 | Wednesday | Ramazan 12, 1422 |
ICC sets Friday deadline for BCCI
LONDON, Nov 27: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has given the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) a Friday deadline to make a final decision on batsman Virender Sehwag.
ICC president Malcolm Speed on Tuesday wrote a letter to BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya, giving him until 06:30GMT on Friday to resolve the issue and end the row between the game’s world governing body and the Indian board.
“I have...noted a number of troubling media comments attributed to you (Dalmiya) in recent days and it is important that the ICC’s position is made very clear to you,” Speed wrote in a detailed letter published on the ICC’s official website.
“You will appreciate that BCCI and ICC are on a collision course and that the consequences for world cricket are of great significance.
“I will ask you to advise me by midday Friday, November 30, (Kolkata time) of your board’s decision in respect of Virender Sehwag.
“In the meantime, might I respectfully suggest that you consult with the members of your board with a view to reaching a decision that is in the best interests of the great game of cricket.”
Sehwag was given an immediate one-match test ban by ICC match referee Mike Denness after showing dissent during India’s second test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth.
This decision, along with five others made by Denness at the time, sparked widespread Indian outrage and the third and final match of the series was stripped of its test status by the ICC after home officials banned Denness from the ground.
However, Dalmiya said the match, still underway in South Africa, is official and therefore Sehwag, who is not playing, has served his ban.
But the ICC said Sehwag remained ineligible for selection and England officials indicated they would support any decision by world cricket’s ruling body.
India’s chief selector Chandu Borde said on Tuesday he and his fellow selectors were under no pressure to select Sehwag.
“We will be selecting the team on merit. Other things don’t come into it,” Borde, a former India test captain, told reporters.
Earlier, ICC president Malcolm Gray said he was optimistic that “common sense will prevail” and that next week’s scheduled first test between India and England in Mohali could go ahead as planned without the need for sanctions against India.
“I don’t think it’s time for threats or a quick fix,” Gray told BBC radio on Tuesday.
“We just hope that common sense will prevail and (India) will understand the position of the ICC and where the ruling is coming from.
“The fact that it is the ICC and the executive board — which they are members of — and Jagmohan Dalmiya was at our last meeting should count for something.
“I just hope that they will make the best of things and see that the issue is rather silly,” Gray said.
“It’s bad enough that the test series in South Africa has been affected by this without the series against England being affected as well and we hope they will see the consequences of their actions.”
“As far as the players are concerned I should be apologising to them, they are getting on with their job and we are trying to get on with ours, hopefully outside the public gaze,” Gray said.
“It’s not a question of what action can or cannot be taken (against India). I hope it’s just a temporary blip and we can get on with life.”
SEHWAG CANNOT BE DROPPED
India’s chief cricket selector Chandu Borde admitted Tuesday it will be difficult to keep batsman Virender Sehwag out of next week’s first Test against England.
“If merit alone is the criteria, Sehwag cannot be dropped,” Borde said after retaining Sourav Ganguly as captain for the three-Test series against Nasser Hussain’s side.
“The boy has played just two Tests and scored a century in his first, it does not make cricketing sense to keep him out,” Borde told AFP.
Borde said there were no instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to keep Sehwag out when the selectors meet here on Wednesday to pick the 14-man squad.
“They (selectors) are free to pick Sehwag or drop him,” Shah said.—Reuters/AFP
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