BCCI satisfied with players' explanations

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has expressed its satisfaction with the explanations it received from Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh to the show-cause notice issued to them. The board had asked the two players to explain their comments to the media about former coach Greg Chappell.

"We have gone through their letters and we are satisfied with the explanation," Rajiv Shukla, the board vice-president, told PTI. Shukla refused to go into the details of the letters sent by the two players and said that the board now considered the matter closed.

"If in future any player speaks to the media, he will be given notice by the Board," said Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary. "Every player should remember that the game is more important than individuals."

The BCCI's Working Committee, that met in Mumbai on April 7, decided that Tendulkar and Yuvraj had breached the board's Code of Conduct. The notices to both players with a seven-day deadline were sent on April 9.

On April 4 The Times of India published an interview with Tendulkar in which he said that Indian cricketers would be disappointed with Chappell if he questioned their attitude. "I've given my heart and my soul for 17 years," Tendulkar was quoted as saying. "No coach had mentioned even in passing that my attitude was not correct. Cricket has been my life for all these years and will always be.

"It's not that we are defending ourselves," he added. "We do realise that we played badly and, as a team, we take full responsibility for that. But what hurt us most is if the coach has questioned our attitude."

Yuvraj's comment to a television channel on April 6, that all the players supported Tendulkar, was also deemed a breach of the code.