BCCI would like to go it alone in 2011

According to the BCCI, India would prefer to go it alone in making a bid for the 2011 World Cup

Cricinfo staff
09-Jun-2005


If a bowling coach is on Chappell's wishlist, he might just get one © Getty Images
According to Ranbir Singh Mahendra, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, India would prefer to go it alone in making a bid for the 2011 World Cup even though a joint bid with Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had not been ruled out. The decision would depend largely on whether the Indian government granted tax exemption for the event, the thorny issue that is still casting a shadow over India staging the ICC Champions Trophy in 2006.
Australia and New Zealand have come out with the idea of a joint bid, as in 1992, and Mahendra told The Indian Express that the subcontinent could follow suit. "I must say that given the standards and infrastructure for cricket in south Asia, we can also deliberate on the joint bid."
Mahendra told the media that a 12-man committee had been formed to discuss weighty issues like sponsorship and TV rights. According to him, "The committee would discuss all proposals relating to offering TV rights to various sports channels and garnering sponsorship to hosting various competitions and arrange finances for the development of the game in India."
The BCCI had also taken note of legislation passed in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and HImachal Pradesh curtailing the power of the cricket associations. While refusing to go into details because the matter was in the courts, Mahendra said: "If such laws are passed, BCCI won't bow down to pressure. We might even think of not allotting international matches to such states, stopping the subsidies for raising infrastructure and other such aids. Moreover, we will back the associations loyal to us."
He also reiterated the stand of Jyoti Bajpai, the treasurer, who had ruled out the idea of the BCCI going ahead with its own TV channel. "We have never said that the board is going to launch its own channel," said Mahendra. "Our first priority is cricket and the commercial interests."
Mahendra also confirmed that the board was not averse to the idea of a bowling coach, provided that Greg Chappell, the new national coach, felt the need for one.