After wrapping up with their last ODI against Australia at Bengaluru, Kohli and Co. flew off to New Zealand for the next series the very next day.

“It’s getting closer and closer to landing at the stadium straight. That’s how compressed the gap has become. This kind of travelling to a place that is seven and a half hours ahead of IST is difficult to adjust immediately. Hopefully, this will be taken into consideration in the future,” Kohli said while addressing the media.

“But this is the year of the World Cup and every T20 is important. So we can’t lose our focus.”

Kohli’s criticism has not gone down well with the now disbanded Committee of Administrators (CoA). According to a report in IANS on Friday, a source in the CoA said that the Future Tour Programme (FTP) was discussed with the skipper, coach Ravi Shastri as well as Mahendra Singh Dhoni in a meeting in the national capital and to suddenly bring this up now doesn’t make much sense.

“It has come as a surprise to us because the FTP was clearly discussed with Kohli, Shastri and Dhoni in Delhi. The CoA didn’t decide the FTP. The trio was given a proper presentation with special emphasis on the number of T20Is they will play since 2020 is the year of the World T20. No questions were raised during that meeting about the dates of the games in New Zealand.

“I am sure they did understand that if they are playing the opening game on January 24, they would need to reach a few days in advance and acclimatise. They were also aware as to when the Australia series was going to end. Don’t know where this has come up from now,” the source said.

I agree with @imVkohli that calendar is too hectic There should not be back to back matches and series as well Players must get some rest and also enough time to get acclimatised . COA should have kept this in mind before finalising the schedule @BCCI

Rajeev Shukla (@ShuklaRajiv) January 24, 2020

Former IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla also backed Kohli’s concern. “I agree with Virat Kohli that calendar is too hectic. There should not be back to back matches and series as well. Players must get some rest and also enough time to get acclimatised. CoA should have kept this in mind before finalising the schedule,” Shukla tweeted on Friday tagging the BCCI.

The post Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri Were Briefed on FTP, CoA Defends New Zealand Travel Plan appeared first on Cricket Country.

Edulji’s retort came on Wednesday during the Dilip Sardesai memorial in Mumbai where Engineer was also present.

“I just heard Farokh saying Parsis don’t have a dirty bone in their body,” Edulji said. “I would like to know, you spoke a lot about the current selectors, in that statement you passed a snide remark about me. I would like to tell you, I played 20 Test matches too, so that is not little cricket I played. You said she (Edulji) has hardly played any cricket..”

Defending CoA, Edulji said it covered a lot of ground and the success of current Indian and women cricket team is a proof of the work done by them. “CoA was brought in with a purpose. We covered a lot of ground, we tried to improve the standard of cricket, the infrastructure. The players have benefited a lot and that’s why the performance of the teams — both men and women — have been outstanding. I think we could have done more,” she said.

Engineer, a former India wicketkeeper-batsman, had said, “I speak my mind. I said something that the CoA was a waste of time and I meant that. I don’t think much came out of it (CoA) really and the money that was paid or spent — (in) crores — could have been better utilised grassroots cricket in the country.”

He continued, “There was nothing personal against you (Diana Edulji). About the selectors I spoke earlier and there was reason for that comment.”

Edulji also expressed her happiness that former India captain Sourav Ganguly has been appointed as the BCCI president which she said what Lodha panel wanted. “I am glad that it’s now run by a cricketer. That’s what Justice (RM) Lodha (panel) wanted, to let the cricketers have a say. Let’s hope that they do well,” she said.

The post I Played 20 Tests, That is Not Little Cricket: Diana Edulji Hits Back at Farokh Engineer For ‘Snide Remark’ appeared first on Cricket Country.

Since it’s the prerogative of an elected body to call an AGM, the BCCI had to wait for the newly-elected set-up under Ganguly to take charge at a General Body meeting in Mumbai on October 23.

“We have received a circular from the BCCI that the AGM will be held on December 1 in Mumbai,” an office-bearer of a prominent state unit told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Among the points that the members would like to revisit are age-cap of 70 years, cooling off period of three years after a period of six years along with curtailing powers of the executives including the Chief Executive Officer.

However for any amendment in the registered constitution as per Supreme Court judgement on August 9, 2018, the BCCI will have to appeal to the Apex court for the particular change.

“Obviously the old guard of BCCI wants to come back in power. Therefore all the principal points of Lodha Reforms will be reviewed. It is expected that the house will agree that BCCI should appeal to the Supreme Court for revocation of those clauses,” said a member of the state association.

The post BCCI Likely to Revisit Amended Constitution in First AGM in Three Years appeared first on Cricket Country.

The current selection panel is headed by former India wicketkeeper-batsman MSK Prasad and also includes Devang Gandhi, Sarandeep Singh, Jatin Paranjpe and Gagan Khoda.

Engineer, who played 46 Tests and five ODIs between 1961 and 1975, feels the presence of a strong-headed Virat Kohli has ensured selection isn’t a worry. “We have got a Mickey Mouse selection committee,” Engineer told The Times of India. “Virat Kohli has a major impact (in the process) which is very good. But how are the selectors qualified? Between them, have they played about 10-12 Test matches. I didn’t even know one of the selectors during the World Cup and I asked him ‘who the hell he was’, because he was wearing the India blazer and he said he was one of the selectors. All they were doing was getting Anushka Sharma (Kohli’s wife) cups of tea. I feel people with the stature of Dilip Vengsarkar should be in the selection committee.”

He cited the example of how Rishabh Pant has been handled, saying the youngster should have originally made the cut for the ICC World Cup 2019 instead of Dinesh Karthik. “They shouldn’t have dropped him (from ODIs). They should have picked him ahead of Dinesh Karthik for him to get as much experience with MS Dhoni,” Engineer, 81, said.

He was also critical of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) to run BCCI’s day-to-day affairs whose reign ended earlier this month. “They (CoA) had no idea about cricket. (Diana) Edulji has played a little cricket but you need somebody who has knowledge of Test cricket, international cricket, international matches. The intention was good from the Supreme Court and the Lodha Committee, but the implementation wasn’t done properly. It was a very very wrong choice of people (appointed in the COA).

The CoA was headed by former Comptroller and Auditor General of India Vinod Rai.

The post All They Were Doing Was Getting Anushka Sharma Cups of Tea at World Cup: Farokh Engineer Slams Selectors appeared first on Cricket Country.

Noted historian Ramchandra Guha on Wednesday said he didn’t expect to be paid for his tenure in the outgoing Committee of Administrators and had made this clear in the CoA’s very first meeting.

Guha declined a payment of Rs 40 lakh along with another former CoA member, banker Vikram Limaye, who was to be paid Rs 50.5 lakh.

“I had indicated in the first meeting itself that I did not expect or want any payment,” Guha told PTI.

Limaye has also refused to accept the payment due to him, citing the same reason.

“I had mentioned this in the first CoA meeting itself that I won’t be taking any compensation for this. It is not my current position, I had articulated this…It is a personal thing. It has got nothing to do with anything else,” Limaye told PTI.

The Vinod Rai-led CoA, which demits office on Wednesday, was originally a four-member panel appointed by the Supreme Court on January 30, 2017.

The 61-year-old resigned from it in July 2017, citing personal reasons, while Limaye also put in his papers subsequently to take charge as the Managing Director and CEO of National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Guha’s resignation letter later created a storm as he lambasted the BCCI for failing to address the conflict of interest issue with regards to players and coaches holding multiple positions.

He also criticised the handling of Anil Kumble as the then coach of the national team, saying that his tenure should have been extended.

Kumble stepped down after a public fallout with captain Virat Kohli following the Champions Trophy in 2017. Guha had slammed the “superstar culture” in the Indian team.

Guha was also critical of the CoA’s functioning, saying that it did not do enough to implement the reforms mandated by the apex court.

The post Not my current position, had indicated in first CoA meeting itself that did not want any payment: Ramchandra Guha appeared first on Cricket Country.

The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) will demit office after the BCCI AGM here on Wednesday, ending a tumultuous 33-month tenure.

Former CAG Rai and former India captain Edulji were always part of the CoA which was appointed in January 2017 while colleagues such as Ramachandra Guha and Vikram Limaye resigned for different reasons later in the year.

All CoA members will be paid Rs 10 lakh per month for the period of 2017, Rs 11 lakh and 12 lakh for 2018 and 2019 respectively.

“The amount was finalised after discussions with Amicus Curiae PS Narsimha,” a senior BCCI official informed on Tuesday.

While Edulji and Rai are expected to be richer by Rs 3.5 crore each, Vikram Limaye, Ramachandra Guha and Ravi Thodge, who had come on board earlier this year, will be paid on pro-rata basis as per their tenure.

The post CoA chief Vinod Rai, member Diana Edulji to receive Rs. 3.5 crore each from BCCI appeared first on Cricket Country.

Ganguly is the unanimous nomination for the post of BCCI president along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s son Jay as the secretary. Mahim Verma of Uttarakhand is the new vice-president.

Former BCCI president and current MoS finance Anurag Thakur’s younger brother Arun Dhumal is the treasurer while Kerala’s Jayesh George is the joint secretary.

However, Ganguly will have a curtailed tenure of around nine months as he would need to demit office by the end of July next year as per the provisions of new constitutions, which makes ‘Cooling Off’ period mandatory after six years in office.

READ: Kohli’s decision whether he wants to rest for Bangladesh T20Is, will speak to him on October 24: Ganguly

Easily one of the most high-profile names to assume office, Ganguly will make use of his experience gained as the secretary and later president of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), which will come in handy.

He has set a few goals — primary being restructuring of first-class cricket as well as getting the administration back in shape along with getting India’s position of reverence back in the corridors of International Cricket Council (ICC).

With Conflict of Interest rules being an impediment, Ganguly will also face the challenge of having quality cricketers on board as far as the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) and national selection committee are concerned.

“It’s a great opportunity for me to do something good,” the former India captain, who will have to demit office in July, due to compulsory cooling off period, had said last week.

The 10-month is a short period and it also needs to be seen how the former India captain handles the disqualified old guards like N Srinivasan and Niranjan Shah, whose children are now officially part of the BCCI.

Ganguly’s relation with IPL chairman Brijesh Patel, a Srinivasan loyalist will also be of interest. His take on cricketing policies — Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s international future, Day/Night Test cricket, permanent Test centres will also be dissected.

For CoA, it was an eventful 33-month tenure that comes to an end. CoA chief Vinod Rai informed the process that will be followed during the AGM.

“First the accounts will be passed for the past three years. Then the electoral officer will announce the election results as everyone is unopposed.

“Today we discussed some of the winding up issues and some minutes of the meetings were to be approved. We finalised tomorrow’s schedule in consideration with Sourav,” Rai told reporters after speaking to Ganguly.

Rai said that he was happy with the Supreme Court order on the day. “Everything that the Supreme Court has done (orders), I have been very happy with it. We had asked for the directions as we could not have resigned. Since the Supreme Court appointed us, we had to be discharged from our duty from the court.

“Every decision was court mandated. We haven’t changed the constitution. Whatever was given to us, we have worked in that [framework].”

The post CoA reign ends as Ganguly all set to take over as 39th BCCI President appeared first on Cricket Country.

As per a report in The Times of India, the main objective of the move is to push independent directors in the ICC board. Apart from CA, the group will have representation from Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ehsan Mani, New Zealand Cricket chairman Greg Barclay, Cricket South Africa president Chris Nenzani, Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt and Cricket Scotland chairman Tony Brian.

“The ICC has been consciously trying to go back to the model that was followed from 1998 to 2016,” TOI quoted a source as saying. “The ICC’s revenues have grown significantly and the BCCI gets a fair share. The other established member boards are struggling with finances and the associates need more funding. That’s why it was first suggested in the annual meeting in London in July that ICC should hold its own events every year to generate more revenue but the BCCI disowned the proposal.”

An impact of the move could be a potential decrease in BCCI’s share of ICC revenue.

The issue is likely to come up for discussion once Sourav Ganguly formally takes charge as the new BCCI president on October 23. “There is no BCCI in place at the moment. There is no point in discussing things with CoA chief Vinod Rai and Johri. The man that needs to be spoken to is BCCI president-elect Sourav Ganguly. And that will happen after he assumes office on October 23,” the report further quoted a BCCI source as saying.

The post BCCI Excluded From New ICC Working Group to Suggest Governing Reforms: Report appeared first on Cricket Country.

BCCI president-elect Sourav Ganguly on Monday said ‘conflict of Interest’ is one of the biggest issues facing Indian cricket since the contentious clause is discouraging the best of the cricketers from getting into the game’s administration.

Ganguly himself faced the heat after allegations of conflict of interest were levelled against him for his dual role as the president of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and mentor of IPL franchise Delhi Capitals.

While he has left Delhi Capitals mentorship already, he will relinquish his post as CAB president on October 23 after officially taking charge as BCCI chief.

“Conflict of Interest is an issue. And I am not sure whether we will get the services of the best cricketers in the system, because they will have other options to avail,” Ganguly told reporters after filing his nomination with veteran officials like N Srinivasan, Rajeev Shukla and Niranjan Shah by his side.

Ganguly made it clear that the present rule of ‘one person one post’ will prevent most of the former greats to get into cricket administration as they also need to earn their livelihood.

“Because if they come into the system and not get to do what is their livelihood, it is very difficult for them to be part of this system and make a difference,” said Ganguly.

The former India captain was a part of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), that had to be dissolved after Ethics Officer DK jain received multiple complaints by Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA)’s Sanjeev Gupta.

Ganguly then gave proper examples of how this clause created confusion.

“If you look at all the appointments that have happened in various forms whether it is the NCA or CAC or the appointment of batting, fielding coaches, there has been issue with everything.

“Then come to commentators or IPL. This needs to be sorted as it is another very serious issue in Indian cricket.”

Over the past few years under the CoA regime, India lost its position of power in the ICC and its revenue has also been curtailed after the Big Three’ (India, England and Australia getting bulk of revenue) concept was done away with.

“That’s one area, we will have to take care of, because in the last 3-4 years, we have not received the kind of money that we deserve,” the former India captain said.

“India generates 75-80 per cent of the global cricket revenue, so that is going to be one of the big agendas. Talks and discussions need to happen and we need to find a solution as it is not leading anywhere,” he seemed concerned.

He also said that once the AGM is held, new sub-committees will be formed including the all-important selection committee.

“Yes, we will have a new selection committee,”he told PTI while leaving the Cricket Centre.

It is understood that the current committee under the chairmanship of MSK Prasad will be selecting the team for the Bangladesh series by next week and that will be its final assignment.

The post Conflict of interest is one of the biggest issues facing Indian cricket: Sourav Ganguly appeared first on Cricket Country.

Sourav Ganguly and team were in for a shock on Monday when they entered the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) HQ in Mumbai to file the nominations for the various posts of office bearers as Electoral Officer N. Gopalaswami was absent.

He was not in office till 3 p.m. forcing the team to hand over the nomination papers to the legal team of the BCCI.

Speaking to IANS, one of the newly picked office bearers confirmed the same and said that even the board executives were unaware of the reason behind the delay.

“Yes, we had been waiting for the Electoral Officer, but we finally handed the papers over to the legal team at around 2.45 p.m. as the closing time for filing was 3 p.m. We still waited till 3 pm and then left,” the official said.

As per the notice sent by the Electoral Officer to the full members of the BCCI, the time for filing nomination was from 11 a.m. till 3 p.m.

Meetings and counter meetings ruled the roost as the affiliated units of the BCCI along with the bigwigs of the board met in Mumbai on Sunday.

At the end of the day, while Ganguly was picked to be the next BCCI President, Brijesh Patel bagged the position of IPL Chairman. Jay Shah is to be the Secretary of the BCCI while Arun Dhumal will be the Treasurer. The post of Joint Secretary has gone to Jayesh George.

The new faces will officially take control of the BCCI when the Committee of Administrators (CoA) hand over power to the BCCI office bearers on October 23.

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