Firdose Moonda and Amol Karhadkar
Cricket South Africa and BCCI have resumed discussions about a possible patch-up that may result in the former supporting the ICC revamp in exchange of the CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat being reintegrated into top administration.If the discussions end positively, then it is possible that not only could CSA vote in favour of the proposed ICC overhaul but also that Lorgat resumes attending ICC meetings and CSA’s dealings with their Indian counterpart. More importantly, India and South Africa could be seen in action against each more frequently than over the last few years.
While a South Africa cricket insider claimed that the BCCI had made “an offer” to CSA, a BCCI administrator maintained they haven’t “offered anything to anyone” for supporting the Big Three (the boards of India, England and Australia) proposal that is likely to be voted on during a special ICC Board meeting on Dubai over the weekend.
The BCCI insider, on the other hand, conceded that CSA and Lorgat are keen to patch up with the BCCI and have informally approached them. Since the decision on Lorgat is an “ICC resolution”, the BCCI “cannot do anything”, according to him. Though it couldn’t be ascertained independently whether ICC has passed a resolution against Lorgat, his role in former ICC head of legal David Becker’s statements during the BCCI-CSA impasse is being probed by an independent ICC panel.
CSA’s turnaround in their stance is significant since they were the first full member to oppose the Big Three proposal that would alter the dynamics of international cricket’s governance. CSA, in a statement ahead of the January 28 ICC Board meeting, had appealed to the ICC president Alan Isaac to withdraw the proposal.
In the course of informal discussions, CSA and BCCI are believed to be discussing more bilateral series. The CSA chief executive’s appointment and the allegedly unilateral announcement of the itinerary for India’s tour to South Africa led to the relations between the two boards reaching an all-time low. The BCCI agreed for a curtailed tour only after CSA withdrew Lorgat from all the ICC and BCCI-related matters.
This breakdown in relations between the BCCI and CSA was followed by the Big Three leaving CSA in the dark about the proposed revamp as well as the sideline meetings around the ICC Board meeting in Dubai last week.
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s Sout If CSA support the ICC revamp, Haroon Lorgat could resume attending ICC meetings and CSA’s dealings with BCCI