Despite the delay in its appointment, the BCCI’s newly formed working group for domestic cricket is hoping to address the priorities of various stakeholders.
The BCCI annual general meeting on December 1 last year had authorised the office-bearers to form a working group to formulate a compensation package for cricketers and officials after the 2020-21 season was curtailed by the COVID-19 outbreak.
The working group, appointed earlier this week, includes Rohan Jaitley (North Zone), Yudhvir Singh (Central), Jaydev Shah (West), Devajit Saikia (North-East), Avishek Dalmiya (East), Santhosh Menon and Mohammad Azharuddin (South).
Interestingly, the BCCI letter to its affiliates on July 10, informing them of the formation of the group, has no mention of a compensation package.
“It has been verbally discussed and I am sure we will be involved in devising the details. From what we gather, the package that is being worked out will be to make up for the loss of tournaments that could not happen last season,” said a member of the group, on condition of anonymity.
In addition to the compensation package, the group will also be tasked with executing the forthcoming domestic season, set to start on September 21.
“Yes, the BCCI has announced the schedule, but besides finalising the venues, we will also have to see if the format requires any tweaks to minimise risks,” said another member of the group.
In the letter to the associations, BCCI secretary Jay Shah noted that the working group comprised representatives of “member associations, including former cricketers”.
Cricketer’s perspective
The cricket community is hoping that the ex players in the working group — Azharuddin, the former India captain and Hyderabad Cricket Association president, and Jaydev Shah, the Saurashtra Cricket Association chief and First Class veteran — will consider matters more from a cricketer’s perspective than an administrator’s.
