BCCI to knock on SC door, puts England series in jeopardy

CHENNAI: With England’s tour of India just a day away, the Board of Control for Cricket in India is all set to leave the future of the series to the Supreme Court. It is learnt that the board will file an urgent petition on Monday seeking relaxation on releasing funds to state units that are scheduled to host the five-match Test series. Moreover the BCCI will also ask the court to allow it to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the England and Wales Cricket Board for the series to go ahead. The BCCI will argue that an adverse decision from the court will force it to call off the series.

Last week BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke had written to the Lodha panel seeking directions on signing the MoU with ECB. However the panel informed the board that MoU is not a mandate for the series to go ahead and it cannot release the funds until all the necessary details are furnished. Following this, BCCI informed its English counterpart that they cannot take care of the expenses on the tour for Alastair Cook & Co, as per the MoU signed between the two boards earlier.
“The MoU was signed long back with the ECB and we have to honour it to maintain good relations between the two boards. The Lodha panel has stated that it is not mandatory, but as a host nation it is our responsibility to take care of the expenses of the visiting side and the five state units need funds to host these matches. We just want them to get what is due for these matches, nothing more.” a board official told Express on Monday.
However, Saurashtra Cricket Association and Tamil Nadu Cricket Association had revealed to this newspaper earlier that they won’t have any problem in hosting the Tests even if they don’t get the funds. They were even up for taking care of England team’s expenses. “Few of them need money and if not, they might pull out of hosting the series. It might turn out to be a huge embarrassment for the BCCI,” the official added.

venkata.krishna@newindianexpress.com