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ICC seeks damages from BCCI

Kolkata, September 5
In a strange twist to the crisis gripping world cricket over players’ contracts, the International Cricket Council tonight demanded “damages” upto Rs 130 crore from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to compensate it and the sponsors.

The game’s governing body wants the board to pay $ 10 million (Rs 50 crore) to compensate sponsors of leading Indian cricketers in case they sign up to play in next week’s mini World Cup in Sri Lanka despite their contractual obligations to conflicting advertisers. In case, India sends a second-string team to Colombo, the board should pay a whopping $ 26 million (Rs 130 crore), the ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed has said in a letter to the board President Jagmohan Dalmiya.

In a late night statement, Dalmiya said he had called an emergency meeting of board’s working committee in New Delhi on Saturday to discuss the situation created by the demands made by Speed, who had lengthy discussions with Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly and few other representatives of Indian cricketers in London yesterday.

The meeting will discuss “whether the damages ranging from $ 10 million to $ 26 million (approx Rs 50 to Rs 130 crore) could be paid, whether the board had the resources to pay such huge damages”.

The meeting would also discuss “whether the damages payable in foreign exchange would be acceptable to the Government of India”, Dalmiya said.

Sources in London said that during the discussions between Speed and Indian cricketers, both sides are believed to have agreed to concessions over issues such as the number of days after the Colombo tournament during which conflicting advertisements would not be permitted.

The ICC’s demand for Rs 50 crore is obviously intended to compensate both the players as well their sponsors for the concessions they are willing to make. The second demand for Rs 130 crore is obviously intended to put pressure on the board not to send a second-rung team.

Dalmiya also said the BCCI has sought time from the ICC to respond to its demand and that the board’s decision would be conveyed to the world cricket governing body immediately after the working committee meeting.

The board President also said he was, “utterly disappointed” with the curious ICC decision that were conveyed to him late this evening. PTI