Tests ‘on’, CL off
Written By
Vijay Tagore
| Updated:
Only yesterday, Pakistan was pleading with the Indian Government and the BCCI not to boycott Team India’s January-February tour to their country.
The last two ODIs against England have been cancelled but the BCCI has got an assurance of sorts from ECB that the team will return to play the two-Test series
MUMBAI: Only yesterday, Pakistan was pleading with the Indian Government and the BCCI not to boycott Team India’s January-February tour to their country. On Thursday the BCCI was requesting the ECB to keep Kevin Pietersen & Co in India. The similarity may be coincidental yet inescapable.
Following attack on Mumbai, the BCCI was forced to postpone or cancel important international fixtures. The Champions League T20, scheduled to start in three cities on December 3, has been indefinitely put off. And the last two ODIs of the current seven-match series - in Guwahati on November 29 and in New Delhi on December 2 - against England had to be cancelled. Kevin Pietersen & Co, currently stationed in Bhubaneswar, will head for England on Friday morning.
However, the BCCI has claimed that the Test series against England is on. “It will be held as scheduled,” a top Board official told DNA. “We will shift the second Test from Mumbai.” The Mumbai Test was to be held at the CCI from December 19 to 23.
It required hard-bargaining from a Board official to convince the English players and the ECB to return for the Tests. BCCI secretary N Srinivasan, who also at Bhubaneswar, held a few rounds of talks with the England team management before agreeing to the cancellation of the ODIs.
He, however, is believed to have got ‘an assurance’ from the ECB with regard to the Test series. When contacted, the ECB said it was not right to presume the Test series is off. “At this stage we understand the Test series is on,” a top ECB official told DNA.
However, the team management sang a different tune at Bhubaneswar. “We will go back and assess the situation in India. There is a lot of time left for the Test matches,” said Hugh Morris, ECB’s managing director.
The postponement of the Champions League was, more or less, inevitable. In the morning, Cricket Australia announced that all cricket related visits to India have been put on hold. It had also advised Shane Warne, who was to reach Mumbai on Thursday, to stay back in Singapore. Middlesex, which was to land in the city on Thursday, cancelled its visit.
At one stage, the Champions League governing council, comprising CA, Cricket South Africa besides BCCI, tried to explore the options of shifting either Mumbai matches to another city or shift the entire tournament to another country. “We thought of it briefly but we found out it will be difficult to have everything in place by next Tuesday,” Lalit Modi, the Champions League boss, said.
It is the second postponement of the $ 6million football-style tournament. It was forced to be put off from a September date on the advice of International Cricket Council. The next date for the tournament was not yet decided.
“We are too busy with things like rescuing some of our members from the hotels. About 17 members connected one way or other were inside the terror-hit hotels. So have not thought about the new dates,” Modi said adding, “all foreign teams and the players were willing to come. But we decided to postpone it.”
MUMBAI: Only yesterday, Pakistan was pleading with the Indian Government and the BCCI not to boycott Team India’s January-February tour to their country. On Thursday the BCCI was requesting the ECB to keep Kevin Pietersen & Co in India. The similarity may be coincidental yet inescapable.
Following attack on Mumbai, the BCCI was forced to postpone or cancel important international fixtures. The Champions League T20, scheduled to start in three cities on December 3, has been indefinitely put off. And the last two ODIs of the current seven-match series - in Guwahati on November 29 and in New Delhi on December 2 - against England had to be cancelled. Kevin Pietersen & Co, currently stationed in Bhubaneswar, will head for England on Friday morning.
However, the BCCI has claimed that the Test series against England is on. “It will be held as scheduled,” a top Board official told DNA. “We will shift the second Test from Mumbai.” The Mumbai Test was to be held at the CCI from December 19 to 23.
It required hard-bargaining from a Board official to convince the English players and the ECB to return for the Tests. BCCI secretary N Srinivasan, who also at Bhubaneswar, held a few rounds of talks with the England team management before agreeing to the cancellation of the ODIs.
He, however, is believed to have got ‘an assurance’ from the ECB with regard to the Test series. When contacted, the ECB said it was not right to presume the Test series is off. “At this stage we understand the Test series is on,” a top ECB official told DNA.
However, the team management sang a different tune at Bhubaneswar. “We will go back and assess the situation in India. There is a lot of time left for the Test matches,” said Hugh Morris, ECB’s managing director.
The postponement of the Champions League was, more or less, inevitable. In the morning, Cricket Australia announced that all cricket related visits to India have been put on hold. It had also advised Shane Warne, who was to reach Mumbai on Thursday, to stay back in Singapore. Middlesex, which was to land in the city on Thursday, cancelled its visit.
At one stage, the Champions League governing council, comprising CA, Cricket South Africa besides BCCI, tried to explore the options of shifting either Mumbai matches to another city or shift the entire tournament to another country. “We thought of it briefly but we found out it will be difficult to have everything in place by next Tuesday,” Lalit Modi, the Champions League boss, said.
It is the second postponement of the $ 6million football-style tournament. It was forced to be put off from a September date on the advice of International Cricket Council. The next date for the tournament was not yet decided.
“We are too busy with things like rescuing some of our members from the hotels. About 17 members connected one way or other were inside the terror-hit hotels. So have not thought about the new dates,” Modi said adding, “all foreign teams and the players were willing to come. But we decided to postpone it.”