Cricket: Sharad Pawar Wants Vengsarkar to Continue


Agencies

New Delhi, Dec 5: In a sudden turn of events, the BCCI on Tuesday climbed down in its standoff with chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar, saying it will go into his “legitimate” demands for compensation for not writing columns. 

Trying to effect a truce, BCCI president Sharad Pawar said he wanted Vengsarkar, who had demanded relaxation of the stiff guidelines that barred selectors from writing columns or adequate compensation for the ban, to continue in the post. In an unscheduled press meet, he said the working committee will meet on Dec 16 in Mumbai and look into the chief selector’s “legitimate” demands.

Hoping that the miffed chief selector — sulking after asked to comply with the board’s seven-point guideline and stop writing columns — would continue in the post, Pawar said Vengsarkar’s demand for compensation was a “legitimate” one.

Vengsarkar had also set Tuesday as deadline for the BCCI to reply on his demands. Earlier, the board had retorted saying he was free to quit.

Vengsarkar has claimed Rs 40 lakh as compensation. The BCCI had initially rejected it and Pawar too at the press meet said the amount is quite big. But he agreed that the selectors should be paid.

“We don’t pay selectors, like some other countries do. But selectors need to travel a lot and watch a number of matches. Vengsarkar said he would incur a loss of Rs 40 lakh, which is not a small amount. So we have to decide on how to compensate the loss.”

“Actually there is a legal problem and we can’t pay selectors who are our elected office-bearers. Vengsarkar himself is an elected vice-president of the Mumbai Cricket Association, while the case is the same with Sanjay Jagdale (Madhya Pradesh) and Ranjib Biswal (Orissa), who are officebearers with their respective state associations.

“His (Vengsarkar) is a legitimate demand and we want to compensate too, but we can’t violate the law. So we’ve convened a working committee and office-bearers’ meeting on Dec 16 to find a way out,” he said.

Heaping praise on Vengsarkar, he said, “Under him, the selection committee has done an extremely good job, right from the day he assumed office. Apart from Australia, we have won against all opponents. While I compliment the players for the achievement, I think equal credit should go to the selectors.”

“Vengsarkar was one of our finest batsmen and his commitment cannot be questioned. I wanted him to be the chief selector some two years ago, but he then had other responsibilities. I sort of pressured him to take up the job last year and I have full trust in him.”

But Pawar did not buy Vengsarkar’s theory that if Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar could write columns despite being associated with the board, so could he.

  

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Comment on this article

  • Alfred J. Rebello, Kundapur/Dubai

    Thu, Dec 06 2007

    This is nothing new and no one can do anything for it unless we stop commercialisation of the game by giving advertisements and stop buying products marketed by these players. So let us forget all this veng / pawar / office bearer issue and hope for the best, not for the ors or office bearers but to the game of cricket.

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  • denzil fernandes, dubai

    Wed, Dec 05 2007

    Climbdown by BCCI? That Vengsarkar would somehow prevail over a shrewd Sharad Pawar was on the cards anyway. With the team for the Australian tour to be ed, BCCI would find it a bit odd to plant a new person urgently in place of Vengsarkar and ask him to pick the team. Pawar, as a stop gap measure has very cleverly coaxed Vengsarkar to continue as the Selection Committee Chairman and who knows, like the habits of most politicians, may dump Vengsarkar once the team lands in Australia. Anything is possible in BCCI affairs.

    Like Ford being announced as the coach only to find the candidate refusing to accept the position. Vengsarkar has, without doubt, played politics with his ion which everyone knows. He was the prime reason to Dravid from the one day squad. That there was a war going on between Dravid and Vengsarkar is now a well known fact although, Dravid being the true gentleman will never reveal this to the public.

    There will be new guidelines given to the ors due to the recent happenings with Vengsarkar. Also, they now stand a chance to get paid for their services which should be the norm. Being one of the richest cricket bodies in the world, this should not be a problem at all for the BCCI. Just like the coaches, even the ors should be picked by a team from the BCCI and probably the best may apply for the job. The zonal system should go and people like Mohinder Amarnath, Vishwanath, Sanjay Manjrekar may then come in. Players from every nook and corner of the country will be considered and only the best will get the nod to play for the country. It is time to change.

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