England focused on job at hand; BCCI, Lodha panel play ‘volleyball’
MUMBAI: Except for the statements from the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the RM Lodha Committee of their being a threat to the India versus England series, at the ground level there were no signs of the tour being in jeopardy.
Everything looks to be on schedule for the opening Test in Rajkot. The England team trained without any care on Friday morning in Mumbai, their spokesperson issued a statement saying there was no change in plan and the Saurashtra Cricket Association was all geared up to host the India team, which will reach Rajkot first, on Saturday.
If there was any doubt over the tour, the England team showed no signs of being concerned.
They were completely focused on getting their preparation right. It was an obvious signal that their Board has a different understanding of the situation than what the BCCI is giving out.
On Thursday, the BCCI secretary Ajay Shrike had written to the England and Wales Cricket Board, taking no guarantee of being able to bear the expenses of their team on the scheduled tour of India.
An ECB spokesperson told the Hindustan Times: “We are already in India. There is no change to any plan. We are looking forward to the series against India.”
On Friday morning, senior BCCI official Dr MV Sridhar came to the Cricket Club of India to meet the England team management and had a meeting with three members of their staff.
England’s media manager told the press that the team would have a full training session on Saturday and will fly to Rajkot on Sunday. The first Test of the match-match series starts on November 9.
As for footing of the hotel bill of the team is concerned, it is being reported that the BCCI has a contract with the hotels accommodating England on this trip and cannot wriggle out of that obligation.
The stance taken by the BCCI and the Lodha Committee is more to put pressure on each other than any serious threat to cricketing activities.
MCA READY TO HOST
Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) informed the BCCI that they are ready to host the fourth Test against England. “A mail has been sent to BCCI after the majority decision was taken in favour of going ahead and hosting the match at our managing committee meeting,” MCA sources said. BCCI had asked all five Test match staging associations whether they can hold the games following the Supreme Court appointed Lodha Panel’s direction that cannot disburse funds due to them as part of annual subvention.
“We are for cricket and will be able to conduct the Test irrespective of any financial help that we normally receive from,” the sources added.