CHENNAI: With the ethics officer upholding Sachin Tendulkar’s view in the conflict of interest case, the BCCI is left with no option than to launch a search for eligible former players to form a new Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC). It will become necessary considering that Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman have also said that they are no longer part of the CAC, in reply to the notice issued to them regarding conflict of interest.
The CAC has an important role to play according to the new BCCI constitution. Clause 26 A (ii) of the constitution says the CAC will appoint the men’s selection committee comprising five persons. Clause 24 (5) states that while the CEO will appoint team officials for the Indian teams, the head coach of each team shall be appointed by the CAC.
So the CAC will be needed immediately after the World Cup, when the contracts of Ravi Shastri and other members of the coaching staff of the senior men’s team come to an end. Tendulkar through his legal team told the ethics officer retired Justice DK Jain that he has decided not to be a part of any committee of the BCCI including CAC, unless the board spells out clearly the terms of reference and tenure of appointment. In the previous arrangement, they had been appointed in an honorary capacity in 2015. It has been learnt that Laxman and Ganguly have also raised a similar point.
Effectively, this means there is no CAC at the moment. Unless one is constituted soon, there won’t be any when the matter of appointing the next coach or extending Shastri’s contract comes up. Accordingly, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) has started the process of forming the new CAC.
“Yes, the verdict in conflict of interest cases against Laxman and Ganguly may also come on the same lines (as Tendulkar). But that doesn’t mean we cannot have a new CAC. India has a big pool of former cricketers. Even these three can come back if they agree to the terms of reference, which will soon come into existence. I can only say that work is in progress and everything will be sorted out soon. Let the verdicts on Ganguly and Laxman be pronounced. Future course of action can be decided after that,” said a CoA member.
It, however, might not turn out to be as simple as expected. Given the current controversy surrounding the CAC and the positions being honorary, the BCCI might be forced to make the job highly-paid to lure former cricketers of repute.
Asia Cup in Pakistan
The Asian Cricket Council in its meeting in Singapore on Tuesday awarded the 2020 Asia Cup to Pakistan, casting serious doubts on the participation of defending champs India. The tournament, which may be organised in T20 format, will be held in September. The tournament will be shifted to another venue if diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan do not improve. The BCCI CEO Rahul Johri attended the meeting. India last played on Pakistan soil in 2008.