Amitabh Choudhary, known to be a tough, no-nonsense cop, has been assigned the most challenging task of his career — guide the BCCI through its troubled relationship with the ICC and restore its image in the cricketing fraternity.
“It’s a difficult phase,” the acting BCCI joint-secretary told The Hindu. “The revenue sharing model and the revised governance structure [of the ICC] work against the interests of Indian cricket and our endeavour is to rectify the same. The BCCI is in a period of transition. So is the ICC. It’s not going to be easy as both parties are undergoing fundamental changes. These changes are overlapping. It’s a tricky situation, no doubt.”
Choudhary did not agree with the perception that the BCCI is confrontational, in constant conflict with the judiciary and now the ICC. “Unfortunately the BCCI has been perceived to be so. All I will say is that certain interested quarters are projecting the BCCI as such. In fact the BCCI is far from it. Let’s consider this. The ICC recommended certain changes which were detrimental to Indian cricket. Shall we not protest? The response [of the BCCI] has been given a kind of context that appears confrontational. The BCCI is fighting for a just cause.”
Asked about the relationship between the the two bodies, Choudhary said, “The BCCI and the ICC have a dynamic relationship. Both are great institutions. Let’s not reduce this relationship to the interplay of individual personalities. History is replete with examples of the BCCI emerging victorious. It won’t be different this time either.”
Choudhary dismissed the view that the BCCI was refusing to emerge from the shadow of one disqualified official. “There is no such thing. If an ex office-bearer offers sensible advice, why should we not give it a thought? We should welcome anyone in the BCCI, past or present, offering help. There is no such thing like being under an individual’s influence. Nobody can dominate me or, for that matter, others in the BCCI. If that were true, then the notice to the ICC would have gone. We went by the directive of the CoA (Committee of Administrators).”
He assured fans that the cricketers would not be impacted by the issues between the BCCI and the ICC. “They may not have been materially affected, but then they also get affected emotionally and psychologically. It will help the BCCI and the players if the hype surrounding this issue is brought down. We delayed the announcement of the team [for the Champions Trophy] because we had taken a position.”
The senior BCCI functionary agreed that India has lost some friends. “It appears to be so. We have to mend fences and have a job at hand. I appeal to the cricket firmament to please understand why we took the position we took in context of the ICC. We have to strategise our responses.”
