BCCI refuses to foot Amitabh Chaudhary's bills for his extended stay at Ireland

BCCI's Acting Secretary Amitabh Chaudhary. Pic/Suresh Karkera

The frost between the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) and the few remaining officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has now spilled over into the global administration scene. Amitabh Chaudhary, the acting secretary of the BCCI, is set to attend the International Cricket Council meeting in Dublin, from June 28 to July 2. When he sent an email to the CoA notifying them of these meetings, and informing them that he planned to stay back to watch the first two India-England Twenty20 Internationals, the reply was something of a smack on the wrist.

Vinod Rai

"The Committee of Administrators has taken note of your email. Although you have not sought approval from the Committee of Administrators for your travel abroad, permission is granted for you to travel only to Dublin to attend the ICC meeting."

While Chaudhary's communication to the CoA did not explicitly seek approval for travel, this was quite obviously implied when he notified the CoA of his intention to attend the ICC meeting in Dublin. Also, it is standard practice for administrators to linger after official meetings, especially around matches that their teams are involved in as this gives them a chance to network with their counterparts from other countries. ICC meetings are carefully structured with set agendas, and often the most interesting conversations between representatives of individual member boards takes place in less formal settings.

The CoA's email, which was also accessed by mid-day, goes on add: "Kindly ensure that expenses towards ticketing and hotel stay are limited to the extent borne by ICC." While every effort is usually made to avoid extravagant spending, every cricket board in the world gives its administrators daily allowances for expenses when travelling at home or overseas and usually significant more leeway beyond, as meetings of this kind may involve expenses towards hospitality.

Diana Edulji

"From the contents of your email the Committee of Administrators does not see any value addition to the BCCI in your merely watching the three-T20 India-England games. Hence, if you wish to attend these games, kindly ensure that BCCI does not incur any expenses in this regard."

That the (acting) secretary of the BCCI must be told that his board cannot, or rather will not, extend him the courtesy of paying his expenses over a few days leaves him at a significant disadvantage when meeting his counterparts from the England and Wales Cricket Board. Just what sort of a bargaining position will the Indian administrator be if he sat across the table from an English counterpart when it is clear that his home board treats him in this manner?

Interestingly, while Chaudhary will attend the meeting of the ICC Executive Board, as per protocol, the BCCI will be represented at the ICC Chief Executives' Committee meeting, by Rahul Johri, the CEO. Johri had also written to the Committee of Administrators detailing his plans, to attend the meetings and stay on till July 8 to watch the first two matches, and ends his email with a simple line: "This is for your information."

It was not possible to ascertain whether he too received a similar ticking off from the CoA.

Also Read: N Srinivasan faction raises 10-point objections, Secy Amitabh Chaudhary skips meeting

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