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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday claimed that it has enough support to get its president Sharad Pawar elected as the head of International Cricket Council (ICC).

“Our (BCCI) president becoming the ICC president is very important. Cricket is the most popular game in India so why not a president from India,” said BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah. “Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and South Africa are supporting Pawar so why should the next ICC president not be from India?” he asked.

Regarding the parallel cricket league that Zee Group had recently introduced and if they needed to take any permission from BCCI before such a launch, Shah said the matter was being looked into. “Since the Zee Group had not yet approached BCCI I cannot say much on that yet,” Shah said.

The BCCI Secretary also said that they would make a pool of 20-25 players and they would be selected in matches on a rotation basis. When asked about the poor performance of the Indian cricket team in the just-concluded World Cup and if it would affect the popularity of the game, he said, “performance will improve on its own. We lost a match in a crucial stage and also did not enter the Super Eights. But now the team is expected to do good against Bangladesh and also against other teams.”

Shah was also asked about bowler Munaf Patel’s injury, due to which he was sent back before the start of the first Test against Bangladesh. “He has a back strain and would be inspected by an expert in Mumbai. I think he is injury prone. The selection committee will decide if he is fit to play in the forthcoming series or not,” Shah said.

Concerning the future of Virender Sehwag in the team after his dismal performance in the one-day series against Bangladesh, the board secretary said that a batsman of Sehwag’s stature could bounce back any time.
Source:The News