Former Indian hitter Ashok Malhotra, now president of the Indian Cricketers Association (ICA), has said that “he finds it very difficult to work in this space” as he feels constrained by the four ICA directors. Directors, Malhotra says, have asked him not to make public statements without discussing the problems internally. But he alleges that they have been leaking correspondence with him to the media.
“Sometimes I don’t understand how other boards of directors do things. You can’t keep telling me about the rules and regulations. I don’t know why stories were planted in the media that I spoke against domestic cricket and Bihar cricket. And on top of that, four directors sent me an email, which I cannot make public. The email leaked to the media, “Malhotra told The Indian Express.
This occurs after Malhotra had posted a video, lamenting what he called the BCCI’s lukewarm response to ICA’s demands. That supposedly didn’t work well with the four directors: Hitesh Majmudar, V Krishnaswamy, Yajurvindra Singh, and Rajesh Nayyar, who, he says, sent an email together, asking the president to follow the Company Law and adhere to the process before doing any statement
“On the one hand, they told me ‘you can’t talk to the media’, and then, on the other hand, you are leaking it to the media. It is very difficult for me to work in this space with all of them united.”
READ | Saba Karim resigns from Cricket BCCI General Operations Manager
The ICA wants free for former cricketers under its wings, health insurance, pension for those who played less than 25 first-class games, and also for the widows of deceased cricketers. He has also demanded the release of the benevolent fund of ex-off-road India Manoj Prabhakar.
However, according to Malhotra, one of the main disputes for ACI directors turned out to be how he spoke about the body of cricketers without worrying about the Bihar Cricket Association and national cricket. Being a body of cricket players, Malhotra, according to ICA directors, crossed the line.
In his video, Malhotra said: “The BCCI has many things on its agenda such as the Bihar Cricket Association; They are talking about domestic cricket … I, as president of the ICA or the ICA as a whole, are not really concerned about that.
“We are more concerned with what we have asked for and the duty of the Apex Council (BCCI) is to comply.”
Malhotra later denied having said anything about domestic cricket. Rather, he talked about how he wanted ACI nominees on the BCCI Apex Council, Anshuman Gaekwad, and Shantha Rangaswamy, to be “proactive.”
READ | ICC board to discuss future of T20 World Cup on Monday
At the last two Apex Council meetings, Malhotra said, the ICA’s demands had been ignored. Some of them were not even included in the agenda. He reported that “one of the nominees” spoke to BCCI President Sourav Ganguly outside the meeting, but nothing tangible was formed. The ICA President himself has spoken to Ganguly. “He (Ganguly) gave me a patient audience. But nothing concrete has yet materialized, ”Malhotra told this article.
He confirmed that he would not resign but said things had not gone wrong with ICA in recent months. “It’s been going on for some time now. I didn’t want to do dirty laundry in public. For me, the last straw has been leaking email,” he said.
Although ICA is an independent body established according to the recommendations of the Lodha Committee, it depends on funding from BCCI. And many in the corps of cricket players, this document understands, feel there was no need to pressure the Board during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Director’s Response
ICA Director Majmudar said he wanted the problem (Malhotra’s anger) to be resolved internally. According to him, the email was sent to ensure the correct process was followed.
“We don’t want to face anyone. We want to work for the benefit of the cricket players, but we must follow the process,” said Majmudar.
She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.