New Delhi: Cricket Australia has made no bones about the fact that Indias tour scheduled towards the end of the year could in a big way decide how the Australian boards’ financial position looks post the coronavirus-led economic setback. And now BCCI Treasurer Arun Dhumal has gone ahead and given them some respite saying that a two-week quarantine after landing in Australia shouldn’t be a big deal once normalcy returns.
And this is the way the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wishes to approach relations with other boards in the post coronavirus era. The line of thought is clear that the member boards of the International Cricket Council (ICC) need India to stand up and lead a revival in these tough times and they will do just that as they look to generate revenue not just for themselves, but for other boards as well.
Speaking to IANS, a BCCI official said that the interest of other member countries has always been close to the Indian board’s heart and now with a change of outlook in certain quarters, the BCCI will look to ensure that the game gets the much-needed boost once the on-field action begins.
“The equations have changed at the ICC and BCCI is looking to do what it has always intended to do and that is to work in tandem with the other boards to sustain the game. I think somewhere there has been a transition in thought as well amongst some other boards that they were being led down the garden path by select individuals for their own benefit. Essentially, the de jure leadership must also rest with the de facto leaders for it to have complete sanctity and for the organisation to have respect,” the official said.
In fact, this is the exact line Dhumal took while speaking to Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. “There is no choice – everyone will have to do that. You would want to resume cricket. Two weeks is not that long a lockdown. That would be ideal for any sportsman because when you are in quarantine for such a long period, then going to another country and having a two-week lockdown it would be a good thing to do. We’ll have to see what norms are posted this lockdown,” he said.
An executive of another cricket board echoed the need for the BCCI and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to come forward and bail the member boards out of the economic setback due to the pandemic.
“The BCCI and the ECB need to come together and help the game out. You have to understand that at this point in time, the member boards need the Indian and English teams to play everyone to help recover from the economic setback and for that you need strong leadership coming in from BCCI,” the executive told IANS.
By Baidurjo Bhose
