The ECB is considering a request from the BCCI to push back the first Test between England and India by a day to allow breathing space for both teams between the two-match series that starts on December 11 and the Champions Twenty20 League that ends the previous night.Sorry, but no can do.. The schedule has been decided in advance, and just because some BCCI drone deems a cooked up Twenty20 tournament to be more important than an already agreed upon itinerary does not mean the BCCI should have it its way.
If the ECB does not step to the plate, the TV companies should.. Ditto the advertisers.. And the local associations and ticket holders.
Allow the BCCI to get away with this ( their sloppiness with the scheduling the Champions League and their arrogance in trying to change schedules to suit their whims) and this will be only the first of the many instances world cricket will have to face in the coming years.
Call the BCCI's bluff - just say NO!
26 comments:
No. No deal.
Agreeed....Why cant Dhoni skip a T20 game for captaining his team in an all important Test side.....After all country s got to take precedence over the franchise....
Good.... I hope the ECb shoves it up the BCCI's backside and say no... they are getting carried away... who the hell wants this champions 20-20 trophy?
In fact scrap every tournament that has the word champions in it... they are all pointless.
The time might have come to organize a petition!
Thanks SB...
Cheers,
I agree Sam.. Also this tacit assumption that the CSK's will play the finals.. And the arrogance that, despite knowing the schedule well in advance, the BCCI waited until the last moment to change it.
Cheers,
lol Scorpi...
The idea of the Champions League is not a bad one.. But this whole nonsense of a hastily scheduled tournament taking precedence over a previously scheduled itinerary kills me.
Cheers,
PS:- What about the ODI world cup?
Samir,
Interesting thought... Let me put something together.
Cheers,
Couldn't agree more about hastily arranged tournaments. But the whole concept of the Champions League doesn't make any sense to me as long as players can play in more than one of the competitions that the teams are drawn from.
LOL Homer... ODI world cup? nah... I was referring to that champions trophy... the mini-world cup... it has not got the imagination of anybody and it is a really long tournament... they could just scrap that too.
The idea for this league in a way is ok but they should have started something like this later on, certainly not now... besides, it would have been better if this tournament is conducted elsewhere.
If the Indian league teams fail to qualify, there won't be anyone in the ground to watch the subsequent matches... at least that been the case traditionally in India.
It is to be seen whether this trend will be be forced to change by the sheer attractiveness of this format.
"to allow breathing space for both teams"
This statement is a farce as we all are aware that it is only Dhoni who will be required for both the tests and the Champions League.
So all this scheduling for one person?
This begs the question then - was it Dhoni who requested this shift in dates?
Or is the BCCI acting on its own trying to safeguard the Indian captain from exhaustion?
Moreover, I believe that the final of the Champions League is on the 10th of Dec and the 1st test on 11th so te shift in dates is being requested over the assumption that Dhoni will be playing the final.
This then begs the questions - has the Champions League already been scripted?
Q: Don't go there :) But its unavoidable. What an idiotic situation.
agreed Jonathan.. But the whole purpose of the Champions League is to make money for the 3 Boards ( BCCI, CA and CSA).. nothing more nothing less.
Cheers,
Scorpi,
Indian teams are the draw for Indian fans...If Western Australia is playing the Titans, I dont think anyone will bother.. But all of that is incidental isnt it.. The main purpose of this jamboree is to make money for the Boards, spectators and all that is peripheral.
I agree about the Champions Trophy...but the ICC needs to make money too :)
Cheers,
Q,
wouldn't the BCCI have been better off scripting this in the IPL rather than a jamboree involving 3 Boards and tangentially, a fourth?
And if 4 Boards are on board with scripting the tournament, the ICC might as well scrap the Anti Corruption unit..
Cheers,
What makes u think they didn't script the IPL? The team that was booked at 1:50 (Jaipur) won the tournament and the team that was booked as favorites at 1:3 (Hyderabad) ended at the bottom of the table ;-)
And since u say that no one would be watching a WA vs Titans match, with the final to be staged at Chennai wouldn't it make sense to have the Chennai Superkings play the final?
Anyhow, thats just the devil in me talking - I don't believe it but if one wants to develop a case for the scripting, it can definitely be done and sense can be made out if it :-)
As for this particular issue, sense has prevailed and there is going to be no postponement.
But the BCCI managed to score a own-goal in the process in any case. Bring up something, get villified, and then say, "well, there is no need for the postponement anyway". Sheesh.
Good sense prevails.
Q,
The last thing a tournament that is trying to establish itself wants is to have its credentials suspect..And there are far too many actors involved for something of that magnitude to be scripted..
Cost and benefit.. The cost of scripting the IPL outweighs the benefits.. The same logic applies to the Champions League..
Cheers,
Samir,
One of the many qualities that make up the BCCI :)
Cheers,
yup RGB, but it wont last long :)
Cheers,
Homer I completely agree with you and as I said that was the devil in me talking and don't believe it.
BUT u wud be amazed to hear that these concerns, though not made public, are openly being discussed behind closed doors at the ICC or so I hear.
The thing is that since the match fixing menace in the 90s was gotten rid of or swept under the carper (whichever version u believe), the ICC has never been more worried abt match fixing as they have been since the launch of the ICL and the IPL.
Cairns & Mongia did not sit the ICL out due to faking injury.
Q,
Since when did the ICC become relevant in matter related to match fixing?
That "august" body could not force the ECB to concede an interview with Alec Stewert despite claims that he was involved in betting and fixing, so that tells you all you need to know about how "serious" they are about match fixing.
Cairns and Mongia - I will give them the benefit of doubt till something more conclusive than rumors are brought in as evidence.
Cheers,
Homer, even if the ICC does not want to get rid of the match fixing, they don't want to be kept in the dark about the fixing that is happening and lose out on their cut :-)
Again, the devil ;-)
lol Q :).. I though penalizing Indian players is where they made their money :)
Cheers,
hahaha.. that too Homer ;-)
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