New Zealand are preparing for the third Test against India as scheduled despite a local media report the remainder of the tour has been cancelled by the Indian cricket board due to financial problems.
The Indian Express newspaper quoted an unnamed official from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as saying the board’s bank accounts had been frozen after a recommendation by the Lodha Committee, a court-appointed panel set up to look into its operations.
“We have no option other than to call off the India-New Zealand series as our banks have decided to freeze BCCI accounts,” the paper quoted the official as saying.
“We don’t want India to be humiliated in front of the world.
“How can we function, how can we hold any games now? Who will make the payment? Freezing a bank account is no joke. An international team is here, and there is so much at stake.”
India sealed the three-match test series 2-0 on Monday with a 178-run victory in Kolkata.
The third Test is scheduled to start in Indore on Saturday, with a five-match one-day international series to follow.
A New Zealand Cricket spokesman said they had heard nothing from the BCCI.
The BCCI has had a long-running battle with India’s Supreme Court, which has demanded a raft of administrative and governance reforms for the world’s richest cricket board.
The board, run by politicians and businessmen and criticised for a perceived lack of transparency, said after a general meeting on Saturday that it had adopted a number of “important recommendations” made by the Lodha Committee but rejected others out of hand.
Anindya Dutta
Roar Guru
That sounds exactly right from someone called Josef Stalin ????
Josef Stalin
Guest
Indian cricket is bankrupt. What should happen now is India is barred from all international cricket and has to come back in via associates cricket when and only when their finances are sorted out.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
Not really. The Lodha Committee advised this morning that it was only two payments that were frozen, the BCCI could continue without restraint. The story of the cancellation allegedly came from a BCCI official;.
Nanda
Guest
None of this is true. Yes the press has reported this. Fact is this. BCCI sanctioned additional transfer of funds to the state units from money it got due to cancellation of Champions league. Since this is not a business as usual payment the committee appointed by the Supreme Court has stopped these transfers. Regular payments for day to day work, including player payments will continue. Just another sensational reporting by the press.
Canberra
Guest
Have THE CORRUPTION finally been found out? It looks like the chickens have finally come home to roost on the most corrupt sporting organisation in the world. The BCCI make FIFA and the IOC look like amateurs when it comes to corruption. What will Star do now that their bed pal is deep in it?