CHENNAI: Anshuman Gaekwad has clarified that his email to the BCCI was about a lack of communication from the president and secretary to the Apex Council members on certain matters and nothing else. News of the former India opener, who is one of the two players' representatives in the Apex Council, writing about his 'grievances' was reported in the media on Wednesday.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Gaekwad said: "My email stated that decisions taken by the BCCI president (Sourav Ganguly) and secretary (Jay Shah) should be communicated to all the Apex Council members. I don't mean they need our permission. I am just saying that Apex Council members should be notified. We have not been informed of all the decisions so far."
The Apex Council came into existence last year, following the Supreme Court's reform order based on the Lodha commission recommendations. According to the board's revised constitution, the Council is "Primarily responsible for the governance of the affairs of the BCCI". It is supposed to meet once every quarter. In the nine-member (eight at the moment) Council, Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy are the players' representatives.
"I can understand that the president and secretary are busy with a lot of things. The IPL is also going on. I don't expect them to convey everything to us personally. But when it comes to the decisions they are taking, there should be a mechanism of communicating those to the members. That's all. Everything else is fine," said Gaekwad.
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With the next Apex Council meeting scheduled for October 17, news of Gaekwad's email sent about 10 days ago caused a minor stir in the board's corridors, where members or officials have not questioned the ways of Ganguly or Shah yet. Not that Gaekwad has raised matters of grave concern, but a person of his stature writing a mail to say certain things should be done differently appears significant.
A state association president, who did not wish to be identified, said the points raised by Gaekwad was important.
"It's a question of transparency. Apex Council members have a right to know what is planned and done. But I wouldn't judge the Ganguly-Shah pair yet, because they have had little time to do anything. Organising IPL amid the pandemic is big, considering its financial implications for the BCCI and state units."