By Baidurjo Bhose

New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS): The Indian Cricketers' Association (ICA) after its meeting on Monday decided to look for an office in Bengaluru with Ahmedabad and Kolkata as the other options if a suitable place is not found in the Garden City. This apart, the budget to be presented to the BCCI has been cut from around Rs 12 crore to Rs 6 crore and awaits the finalisation of the treasurer before it is submitted to the board.

Speaking to IANS, an ICA member said that it was a fruitful meeting and the major decisions were around finding an office for the association as well as the new budget plan keeping in mind the suggestions of the Apex Council which called for a reworking of the financial plan.

"The HQ of the ICA will remain in Mumbai, but we have been looking for another office and we have now zeroed in on Bengaluru. If we don't find a suitable place in Bengaluru, then we will try for Ahmedabad or Kolkata since the office bearers of the BCCI hail from these two cities. A lot of things need to be kept in mind while finalising the office, so let's see how it goes.

"This apart, we spoke on the budget that is to be presented to the BCCI and while the initial budget was around the Rs 12 crore mark, we have cut that down to approximately Rs 6 crore. The treasurer will finalise of the same before we hand it to the BCCI for approval," the member said.

Asked if there was any other major decision taken, the member said that around 500 former cricketers were given membership taking the total number of members to around 1,700.

"We have given another 500-odd applicants membership. These former cricketers had submitted applications after the elections and they were cleared today during the meeting. So, from the initial 1,200-odd members, we now have 1,700 members," the member pointed.