By IANS
New Delhi : The Indian cricket board’s apparent predicament with the breakaway Indian Cricket League (ICL) continued Wednesday when it announced that those aligning with any organisation not recognised by it would lose all the benefits they are entitled to.
“Every individual has a right to choose whether he wishes to associate himself with the BCCI or any other organisation,” Rajeev Shukla, a vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), told reporters after a meeting of its office bearers, while reading out from a prepared statement.
“However, if he chooses to associate himself with any other organisation, then he shall not be entitled to derive any benefit from the BCCI or be associated with any of its activities,” he said at BCCI president Sharad Pawar’s residence where the meeting was held.
The decision will be ratified at the annual general body meeting of the BCCI in Mumbai Aug 21.
The decision comes a day after Pawar said that the board would not ban the players who join the ICL.
Shukla parried the issue, saying his statement was self-explanatory.
When queried about the BCCI decision, treasurer N. Srinivasan chipped in to say: “The statement is very clear from the BCCI. We are very clear that a person is free to play for any organisation.
“The BCCI is not opposed to anybody and is taking care of itself. It is taking care of cricket like any other body,” he maintained.
When asked whether the decision was also an ultimatum for National Cricket Academy (NCA) chairman Kapil Dev, who also heads the ICL executive board, Shukla replied: “It is not an ultimatum to Kapil Dev and no individuals were discussed in the meeting.
“But a person is free to join any organisation. But he cannot expect to have benefits from the BCCI,” Shukla added.
Questioned whether the BCCI would direct its affiliated units not to rent out their facilities to ICL, he chose to evade the issue.
Srinivasan, however, pointed out that the grounds do not belong to the board. “It is up to the associations to decide,” he said.
The BCCI had already asked the state associations and other affiliated bodies to distance themselves from the ICL.
ICL is a brainchild of media magnate Subhash Chandra, whose planned Twenty20 matches in October-November is the hottest talking point in cricketing circles.
The BCCI board also approved a proposal to establish a second NCA.
“We have decided to have a second NCA in Bangalore. For this we will approach the Karnataka government for a 30-acre plot of land,” Shukla said.