An allegation of domestic violence by his wife has resulted in Mohammed Shami being made to wait before being handed his annual contract by the BCCI.
The CoA, including Vinod Rai and Diana Eduji, took this call just before announcing the annual contracts for 2017-18 on Wednesday.
While a source close to the CoA revealed to The Hindu that Shami’s issue was “kept on hold on ethical grounds”, chairman Rai admitted it was a tough call.
“We are in a bit of Catch 22 [situation],” Rai told ESPNcricinfo. “Ordinarily you would distinguish and say that [the allegation] is a personal issue and the contract is a professional issue.
“But someone could easily point out and say this allegation is an unsavoury one and you are still rewarding him.”
Shami’s wife Hasin Jahan first made the allegations on social media, then in a television interview before filing a police complaint against Shami and his family in Kolkata on Wednesday. Shami, who has been India’s stand-out bowler in the last contract cycle, has termed the allegations as a “conspiracy” against him.
The CoA’s directive gives way to the following questions which the CoA will have to clarify at the earliest:
# Does this mean Shami has been suspended from playing competitive cricket at the moment?
# Have the selectors been advised not to consider him for selection until further notice?
# What happens to Shami’s Indian Premier League contract? Will he be allowed to join Delhi Daredevils, who retained him for ₹3 crore in the player auction?
# If the player contracts had been announced before the allegations surfaced, would Shami have been stripped of it?
With the BCCI acting secreary Amitabh Choudhary stating he was not part of the decision making regarding player contracts, hopefully the CoA will clear the air sooner than later.
