Ending India’s “domination” of the ICC and dismissing the “nonsense” idea of having a window for the IPL would top Tony Greig’s agenda if the former England captain is given charge of cricket’s world governing body.
“Number one, we have got to try and get the ICC right. We have a situation at the moment where the ICC is dominated by India. They tell Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and one or two other countries what to do and they always get the vote,” Greig told the ‘BBC’ in an interview.
“It’s very hard, but somehow we have got to change things at that level,” he added.
Greig said there is too much cricket being played and having a separate window for the IPL would be ridiculous while players complain of burnout.
“We are playing too much cricket. I would be getting all the countries from the world and saying hey listen, what is this nonsense of giving Indian domestic cricket an open window?
“To give the IPL (Indian Premier League, a domestic Twenty20 competition) an open window, and reduce by two months the time available for cricketers to play around the world, in the current environment is just ridiculous.
“We have got to look very, very closely and make sure we do not destroy the cornerstone of the game which is Test cricket,” said the 64-year-old former all-rounder, who is now a commentator.
Greig said it was unfortunate to see players such as Chris Gayle coming up with batting fireworks in the IPL while the West Indies took on Pakistan in a Test series.
“It is laughable that (Chris) Gayle and (Kieron) Pollard are playing in the IPL when the West Indies are playing Pakistan — that is just ridiculous.”
Greig, however, maintained that he loves the cricketing atmosphere in India.
“I took to India and the subcontinent very much...I loved the place,” said Greig, ahead of the publication of a new biography, ‘Tony Greig: A Reappraisal of English Cricket’s Most Controversial Captain,’ by David Tossell.
“It was the first time I really felt as if we were entertaining people, as the people there loved the game so much — to go to those stadiums and find them packed full.
“To this day (Kolkata’s) Eden Gardens remains one of my top three grounds, just because of the incredible atmosphere,” he added.
Published - May 17, 2011 03:25 pm IST
