(Trinidad Guardian) The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will meet the extended deadline and present the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) with a workable proposal to meet the debt of US$41.97M incurred as a result of the aborted tour of India in October.
Secretary of the BCCI, Sanjay Patel, issued a letter to the WICB and copied Caricom, stating that the initial 40-day waiting period that Caricom has asked for, has passed and they have not gotten any indication from the WICB as to how and when the monies will be paid. The letter dated January 20, has given the WICB until Tuesday or the BCCI is threatening legal action, in order to recover the funds.
President of the WICB, Dave Cameron told the T&T Guardian yesterday that the WICB will meet this further deadline and will present a workable solution.
However, the Supreme Court ruling earlier in the week, stating that N Srinivasan cannot stand for re-election has also thrown a spin on the West Indies matter.
The Supreme Court’s decision to open the BCCI to judicial scrutiny under Article 226 of the Constitution has implications that go beyond the cricket field and into the boardroom, potentially influencing the way the sport will henceforth be run.
If the WICB repayment issue ends up in court, as the BCCI is threatening then there is possibility that other matters concerning the pull out might come into the open and into the equation. It is alleged that there are factors beyond what was reported over the pull out and the question now arises as to whether the BCCI’s position has been weakened with the court’s apparent willingness to go into micromanagement and deep into the governance structure of the sport’s body.
The letter was sent to the WICB before the latest court ruling by the Supreme Court and it could influence the course of action and what the WICB would propose. Likely, forcing India to soften its stance on the WICB.
The West Indies cricket team failed to complete their tour of India over a payment structure dispute with the WICB and their players association WIPA. The teams was scheduled to play five limited overs internationals but played four and pulled out of the final game at Calcutta.
The West Indies also did not send a team for the three-Test series and Sri Lanka was called in to play a series of five limited over matches to fill the void.
