After a good night's sleep and some introspection, Sunil Gavaskar decided yesterday morning that he would not give in if an offer to be on the Indian Premier League Governing Council came his way.
After a good night's sleep and some introspection, Sunil Gavaskar decided yesterday morning that he would not give in if an offer to be on the Indian Premier League Governing Council came his way.
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| Taking a stand: Sunil Gavaskar. PIC/AFP |
Gavaskar, who was on the GC for the first three years of the IPL, received an offer from BCCI secretary N Srinivasan to be on the panel without being paid, but declined it.
On Wednesday, Board of Control for Cricket in India president Shashank Manohar told the media that he would check with a reputed cricketer (one slot had to be filled) as to whether he would serve on the IPL's Governing Council (GC) in an honorary capacity. Manohar had called Ravi Shastri, but for some reason did not contact Gavaskar. This led to reports of the batting great being dropped. Shastri agreed to be on the panel for free.
Gavaskar, who was reportedly paid Rs one crore per IPL season, said on NDTV channel on Wednesday that he would do anything for Indian cricket for free because he owed his country's cricketing set-up a great deal. So why the change of heart? "On second thought, I realised that the IPL is a business, so why should they (BCCI) not pay me," he told MiD DAY here last night.
"All along I have tried to help Indian cricket to the best of my ability. Where the current scenario and logic of not paying reputed cricketers is concerned, I thought I should take a stand: If I have to continue, BCCI should pay me for the job. I've been chairman of the technical committee for which the BCCI does not pay. I don't have any problems with that. But IPL is a major business proposition."
