Former skipper Kapil Dev wants fellow cricketers to utilise the players association to show their strength and make a difference in Indian cricket
1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev during an app launch at a city hotel yesterday. Pic/Atul Kamble
A new chapter in set to unfold in Indian cricket when the 1,200-plus cricketers, who registered on time with the Indian Cricketers' Association (ICA), will cast their vote in the ICA elections. During the three-day voting window, cricketers will elect (via e-voting) the ICA secretary, treasurer and male nominee for the all-powerful BCCI Apex Council. Candidates for the ICA president, female cricket nominee for Apex Council and player nominee for the IPL Governing Council are unopposed.
Kapil Dev, who is the head of steering committee that formed the ICA, termed today as "just another day", but agreed it is a very important beginning in Indian cricket.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Cricketers have got a great opportunity to show their strength. I want to tell them, bahar baithke bohot baatein hoti hai [from the outside one can talk about many things]. Now, you have got an opportunity to make a difference, so work towards it," Kapil told mid-day on the sidelines of the Vaoo app launch yesterday.
The ICA is a major part of reforms that the Justice Lodha Committee brought into the cricket establishment. It provides a platform to put forward the players' view in the BCCI. There were a couple of failed attempts made in the past (1996 and 2001) to set up a cricketers' body.
Passion drives Kapil
Kapil said he enjoyed setting up the ICA. "If you have the passion for something, there is no difficulty. I got a subject to work on, which I did and then moved on with life," the 1983 World Cup-winning captain said. Kapil recently had to relinquish from his post of Cricket Advisory Committee member that re-appointed Ravi Shastri as head coach of the Indian team.
However, he was issued a conflict of interest notice by the BCCI ethics officer Justice DK Jain after a complaint was filed by Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association life member Sanjeev Gupta for holding two posts (ICA and CAC).
Reason to resign
Kapil remarked: "Let's first understand this… we [CAC] were called for a reason [to pick the Indian team coach]. After that, we were anyway out of it [CAC]. It was the media who wanted us to resign. So, it was just a letter [to the CoA] that I have resigned. We were just called for one meeting, so there is no meaning to this resignation. We were never there as permanent members. The moment our job was over, we were out of it anyway," he said.
When asked whether the conflict of interest rules are too stringent and could result in hurting Indian cricket, Kapil said: "What is conflict? You took some interviews and then you are done with your job. It was just an honorary thing [to interview the coach candidates]. If one was on the payroll [of the BCCI] then it is conflict. I am a very positive person. I want to tell this to negative people as their job is to only see negative things in life," he said.
Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
