BCCI Surprised by CoA’s Plan to Engage Advisor for Hosting of Asia Cup in UAE

In another instance of the total lack of communication between the Supreme Court Appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the CoA’s decision to engage a consultant/advisor for the Asia Cup in the UAE later this year has board officials seeing red.

BCCI officials have been taken by surprise as the Asia Cup is an Asian Cricket Council (ACC) organised tournament and the funding is to be done by the ACC itself. However, in meeting on May 18, the minutes of which have been accessed by CricketNext, the CoA recommended the engagement of an advisor and asked for a detailed report post consultation.

The CoA’s reasoning for the decision was to avoid a scenario like the IPL in 2009 when the tournament was moved to South Africa and there were various regulatory issues under the Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 (FEMA).

However, BCCI officials fail to understand the need for a consultant for the Asia Cup because not only is the tournament being hosted by ACC, hence outside the purview of the BCCI, but also since the board already has a consultant for such matters, who was instrumental in the smooth hosting of the first half of the IPL in UAE in 2014.

“The decision comes as a shocker,” a BCCI official unwilling to be named told CricketNext. “The CoA needs to be told that the Asia Cup is ACC's property. Also, I am amazed that they had a discussion about the situation that arose during the 2009 move to South Africa, but there was no mention of the successful hosting of the first half of the IPL in UAE in 2014.

Source : News18