BCCI - Board of Control for Cricket in India

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World T20, 2nd Semi-Final

India vs West Indies

at Mumbai, Mar 31, 2016
West Indies 196/3 beat India 192/2 by 7 wickets

Board of Control for Cricket in India

BCCI, India

The Board of Control for Cricket in India, or BCCI, is the governing body for cricket in India. This is India's richest sporting body. The President of BCCI is Sharad Pawar (elected 29 November, 2005). Niranjan Shah is the secretary.
All the office-bearers for the year 2004-05, were elected at the annual general meeting of the Board held in Kolkata.
On January 10, 2005, the Supreme Court of India ordered the removal of Jagmohan Dalmiya from the post of patron-in-chief of BCCI and also asked the board to complete its annual general meeting (AGM) which had been adjourned on September 30, 2004.
The legality of the office-bearer's election at the board's annual general meeting (AGM) held on September 29, 2004 is subjudice.

BCCI Cricket News May 2006

BCCI to finalise tour fixtures on 31 May

May 29, 2006
The Programmes and Fixtures Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India will meet here on 31 May to finalise the upcoming tours to be undertaken by the national team in the near future. This includes the triangular One-Day International tournament in Sri Lanka, in August, and the tour to South Africa later this year. The committee will also draw up a schedule for the new domestic season as well as tours of the India A and under-19 teams. "The trip to Sri Lanka is more or less finalised. I will be putting it up to the programmes and fixtures committee to get their approval for the same, BCCI secretary Mr Niranjan Shah told from Rajkot.

BCCI for Sri Lanka Tri-series in August

May 17, 2006
The Indian cricket board is keen that the forthcoming triangular one-day series in Sri Lanka, with South Africa as the third team, is scheduled between August 15 and 30 and not in September as has been proposed by the Lankan board.
BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah told reporters today that he would go to Colombo to attend the Asian Cricket Council's executive board meeting on May 21 and would take the opportunity to discuss the matter with the Lankan board officials.

BCCI plans cricket TV channel

May 17, 2006
The Board of Cricket Control in India is planning to set up its own company to start a cricket-specific TV channel. Apart from beaming cricket played in India, the BCCI cricket TV channel will also bid for international ricket matches played abroad. It will also look at business opportunities in radio broadcasting, Internet and other sunrise sectors.
Many industry observers are not convinced about the viability of a cricket-only channel in India. International cricket is played in India only for 30-40 days every year. Making money out of this is seen as a tough proposition. However, BCCI believes that it can host an increasing number of international cricket events in India and rake in money.
A proposal for the BCCI cricket TV channel was presented to the BCCI working committee, which is expected to approve the TV channel proposal at its next meeting soon.
According to a BCCI study on the proposed cricket TV channel, the proposed channel has the potential to rake in revenue of Rs 2,189.9 crore in the first year. The projected revenue will go up to Rs 4,781.9 crore in the fifth year, the study says.
The first year of operation will cost the board Rs 710.2 crore only and in the fifth year the expenses will go up to Rs 1,161 crore.

India to host Afro-Asia tournament in September

May 16, 2006
India to host the Afro-Asia cricket tournament in September.
According to an ICC press release issued in London, the second edition of the Afro-Asia tournament will be accorded full one-day status, similar to the first edition, which was held in August 2005 in South Africa.
Till a fortnight ago, there were doubts about the tournament being held as it could not draw enough crowds.
Till last week, a senior African administrator was quoted by Cricinfo as saying that the event would not take place in 2006 because of the packed schedule of the Indian side.
Now, however, the ICC and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have agreed that the tournament can be held in the week between the end of the ICC Champions Trophy and the start of Indias tour of South Africa and Pakistans home series with West Indies.
The three day-night matches are being planned for the last week of September, between the recently-announced India-West Indies ODIs in North America and the start of the Champions Trophy.
It seems that support for India's 2011 World Cup bid was tied in with the decision, which was made during the recent ICC executive board meeting in Dubai, and also that the TV company who had signed a three-year deal to broadcast the tournament also had their say.
The third Afro-Asian cricket tournament is slated for June 2007 in Africa.

ICC approves India West Indies deal to play in US

May 15, 2006
The International Cricket Council has given its approval to the profit-sharing deal between India and West Indies to play matches in North America and Canada.
The Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) and the West Indies Cricket Board have agreed to play a short one-day series in the United States and Canada later this year.
Speed also said India, with a population of over a billion, and the combined populations of Canada and the United States of over 300 million, gave the West Indies a chance to take advantage of these huge economies.

BCCI expects Sachin Tendulkar to play in West Indies

May 10, 2006
The Board of Control for Cricket in India expects ace batsman Sachin Tendulkar to play during the tour of West Indies. Sachin returned to the nets today for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery in March.
The 33-year-old batsman, dressed in a black sweat shirt and shorts, spent about 20 minutes facing cricket ball throw-ins but did not speak to the huge media contingent that gathered at the ground in suburban Mumbai.
India's most capped Test player switched between two bats that appeared much lighter than the ones he usually uses, playing from off to leg to test his right shoulder.
The Mumbai batsman has not played since the final Test defeat against England at his home ground in mid-March. He is already ruled out for the one-day series in West Indies that starts on May 18.
However, he harbours hopes of staging a comeback for the subsequent four-test series in the Caribbean starting on June 2.
Tendulkar also tested his shoulder on Tuesday with team physiotherapist John Gloster, away from the media glare.
The Indian board later said his progress was satisfactory.
The shoulder injury is the latest in a series of setbacks for the batsman in the last six years, mainly attributed to the wear and tear of constant cricket since Tendulkar began his India career as a 16-year-old in 1989.
He was also sidelined for six months last year after needing surgery to rectify a tennis elbow injury.
Tendulkar holds the world record for most Test and one-day hundreds and one-day aggregate.

BCCI warns Sehwag

May 10, 2006
The Cricket Board today sought to gag players from speaking about Sourav Ganguly and the issue of player burnout by warning vice-captain Virender Sehwag from speaking on these subjects to the media.
If you have apprehensions of a burnout, take rest and do not give your opinion on Ganguly, Sehwag was bluntly told.
Days after the dashing opener had said that Ganguly, coach Greg Chappells anathema, was "missed by the team and that the issue of player burnout had been taken up with the Board, he was verbally warned by BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah.
In carefully chosen words, Sehwag had stated in an interview that while it was the prerogative of the Board and the selectors to decide on the former skippers future, the team sometimes missed Ganguly.
On burnout, Sehwag had said skipper Rahul Dravid and he had taken up the issue of too much cricket with BCCI President Sharad Pawar when the team was in Pakistan two months ago and that the Board had promised to address the issue after the current commitments were fulfilled.
The cricketers were barred from airing their views on Ganguly-Chappell row last September after Harbhajan Singhs outburst against the coach.
According to one of the clauses of the contract with BCCI, the players are also not allowed to write columns for newspapers. Only the captain, coach and manager have been permitted to write columns.

Indian Supreme court bars free telecast of Windies tour

May 10, 2006
India's Supreme court barred the state-run broadcaster yesterday from showing free-to-air live coverage of the national cricket team's tour of West Indies.
India will play five one-day matches and four Tests starting on May 18, and state-owned Prasar Bharti had demanded live coverage from Dubai-based private broadcaster Taj Television, whose Ten Sports unit holds telecast rights for cricket in the Caribbean.
Taj had requested a fee for the feed, which the government said it could not pay. The Supreme Court upheld a petition by Taj barring Prasar Bharti from downlinking the matches.
Last October, the government passed a controversial order making it mandatory for private broadcasters to share coverage of major live sports events, particularly cricket, with Prasar.
During India's tour of Pakistan in January and February, the two broadcasters ended up in court on the issue. They eventually reached a settlement under which Ten Sports provided free highlight packages to Prasar Bharti for Tests, and the state firm bought the live feed for one-day games.

Dravid bats for players union

May 09, 2006
Without directly referring to the burnout issue, which has become a matter of raging concern among cricketers, Indian captain Rahul Dravid on Monday made an appeal for the recognition of the Indian Professional Cricketers' Association (IPCA), saying a recognised, formal players' union would facilitate "smoother dialogue" between cricketers and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
"We have the Federation of International Cricketers' Association (FICA) working for players at the international level and we have the IPCA here. We are trying to get it recognised," Dravid told reporters, "We have taken up issues with the Board and there has been healthy dialogue."
FICA chief Tim May had earlier suggested that a player strike was the only way out if cricketers wanted the International Cricket Council (ICC) to address the issue of too much cricket being played, and Dravid appeared keen on a formal recognition for the IPCA. "In the long run, a players' association will help in setting up a smooth process," he said.
Dravid, however, preferred not to comment directly on players' concerns regarding the burnout issue. Virender Sehwag had earlier disclosed that Dravid and other senior players had approached the BCCI to table their concerns regarding the extension of cricket seasons and the expansion of the international calendar.
"We have had healthy discussions with the BCCI on various issues, not just the burnout issue," was all Dravid was willing to say. He subsequently added that media reports on the issue had not portrayed "exactly what was discussed, and instead they have put their own spin on it. I would like to take up our concerns directly with the Board, not through the media".

BCCI pension for ex-players

May 08, 2006
The Assam Cricket Association (ACA) has invited applications from former state first class players for a pension scheme introduced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Although only few of the state players fulfil the criteria fixed by the BCCI for the pension, the ACA has sought applications from over 30 former first class cricketers from across the state. The last date for submitting applications is May 15.
The BCCI criteria stipulate that a player who has played in Ranji, Duleep and Irani Trophy will be eligible for pension. Besides, a player should have played at least 10 matches upto the 1957-58 season or at least 50 to 75 matches upto 2003-04 or more than 76 matches upto 2003-04.
Meeting the requisite criteria from the state are Abani Hazarika and Rajesh Bora. Hazarika, who also represented the state in football, had played 10 matches till 1957-58 and Bora played 66 matches between 1983-84 and 2004-05.
Though the late Amalendu Guha Roy too, met the criterion having played 11 matches till 1957-58, he will not be entitled for pension because the BCCI does not have any provision for posthumous payment or family pension.
Successful candidates will be entitled to Rs 10,000 per month as pension effective from the date on which he retires from first class cricket.

Ten Sports moves Supreme Court

May 05, 2006
Ten Sports, which has exclusive rights to telecast the India-West Indies cricket series, on Friday moved the Supreme Court, seeking to restrain the Prasar Bharati from downlinking the live feed of the matches.
A Bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhan and L K Panta posted the matter for hearing on Tuesday, telling Solicitor General G E Vahanvati to seek proper instructions on the issue as the Dubai-based sports channel has declined to provide the link without payment.
The private channel filed an application contending that if the matches of the Test and one-day international series were simulcast on Doordarshan, it will suffer a huge loss.
It said it has sold the distribution rights to Set Discovery Pvt Ltd, which will have the right to license throughout the country.
The channel said if interim relief was not granted to it, the order of the court delivered before the recent India-Pakistan series would become infructuous.
Taj Television Ltd, owner of Ten Sports, had filed the petition seeking stay of the government guidelines making it mandatory for the sports channels to share feed of sporting events of national importance with Prasar Bharati.
The court had allowed the live telecast of Indo-Pak ODIs on DD after an agreement was reached between Ten Sports and Prasar Bharati that latter would deposit in court a sum of Rs 15 crore.
Ten Sports has challenged the validity and legality of the downlinking guidelines terming it as arbitrary without the authority of law.
The sports channel had challenged the Bombay High Court order of December 21, 2005 refusing it any relief. Later the matter pending before the high court was transferred to the apex court.

Suresh Raina and Sreesanth land central contracts

May 05, 2006
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) handed over central contracts to Suresh Raina and Sreesanth following impressive starts to their international careers.
Raina and Sreesanth would be included in Grade C of the central contracts list and offered a retainership of Rs 20 lakh per annum, the BCCI said in a media release.
The BCCI had offered central contracts to 15 players in December and announced that if a non-contracted player appeared in five Tests or 15 one-dayers, he would be absorbed into the lowest grade.
Thus, the central contracts list now includes 17 players.
The BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said that the contracts for both Raina and Sreesanth would be as applicable as to the other members of the Indian squad, meaning it would be backdated and run through upto the end of 2006. UPdated CONTRACTS
Grade A Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, V.V.S. Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan.
Grade B Ajit Agarkar, Mohammed Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Grade C Murali Kartik, Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Sreesanth.

Cricket in India

Cricket is the unofficial national sport of India, and its development has been closely tied up with the history of the country, mirroring many of the political and cultural developments around issues such as race, caste, religion and nationality. Though cricket is indubitably the most popular sport in India, it is not the nation's national sport (a distinction held by field hockey).
Cricket, like field hockey, was first introduced to India by the British. The earliest recorded match was played in 17211 by British sailors on shore leave. With the expansion of British rule throughout the subcontinent, the British took the game with them wherever they went. However, the early history of the game was focused largely on the large cities, particularly Bombay (now Mumbai).
The first Indians to play the game at a high level were the Parsi minority in Bombay. Beginning in 1892, an annual match was played between the Parsis and the Europeans. In 1907, this became a triangular tournament with the Hindus fielding a team, and in 1912 a Muslim team entered what was for twenty years the biggest tournament in Indiathe Bombay Quadrangular.
Among the biggest stars in the early years of Indian cricket were the four Palwankar brothers, Shivram, Ganpat and Vithal but particularly the slow left-arm bowler, Palwankar Baloo. This was particularly noteworthy as the Palwankars were from one of the untouchable castes. Treated as equals on the cricket field, off-field they often faced discrimination. This changed slowly; however, Palwankar Vithal did eventually captain the Hindu team in the quadrangular.
The formation of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in 1929 led to a first Test match with England three years later. In 1935, the Ranji Trophy began; it continues to the present as the leading regional tournament in India, with each state fielding a team. The trophy was a deliberate attempt to avoid the communalism of the quadrangular tournament.
The Indian cricket team has won one Cricket World Cup, in 1983. India also reached the finals in 2003, but lost to Australia. In recent years, Indian cricket has been marked by the intense and occasionally violent rivalry with Pakistan. Furthermore, there were several scandals related to match fixing and gambling, but these were not restricted to India; they plagued several different teams.
International cricket in India generally does not follow a fixed pattern like, for example, the English schedule under which the nation tours other countries during winter and plays at home during the summer. Generally, there has recently been a tendency to play more one-day matches than Test matches.

Ranji Trophy

Founded as 'The Cricket Championship of India' at a meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in July 1934. The first Ranji Trophy fixtures took place in the 1934-35 season. Syed Mohammed Hadi of Hyderabad was the first batsman to score a century in the tournament. The Trophy was donated by H.H. Sir Bhupendra Singh Mahinder Baha-dur, Maharajah of Patiala in memory of His late Highness Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji of Nawanagar. In the main, the Ranji Trophy is composed of teams representing the states that make up India. As the political states have multiplied, so have cricket teams, but not every state has a team. Some states have more than one cricket team, e.g. Maharashtra and Gujarat. There are also 'odd' teams like Railways, and Services representing the armed forces. The various teams used to be grouped into zones - North, West, East, Central and South - and the initial matches are played on a league basis within the zones. The top two (till 1991-92), top three teams from each zone then play in a national knock-out competition. Starting with the 2002-03 season, the zonal system has been abandoned and a two-division structure has been adopted with two teams being promoted from the plate league and two relegated from the elite league. If the knockout matches are not finished they are decided on the first-innings lead.

Irani Trophy

The Irani Trophy tournament was conceived during the 1959-60 season to mark the completion of 25 years of the Ranji Trophy championship and was named after the late Z.R. Irani, who was associated with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from its inception in 1928, till his death in 1970. The first match, played between the Ranji Trophy champions and the Rest of India was played in 1959-60 with the trophy being instituted in the name of Zal Irani, long time treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and a keen patron of the game. For the first few years, it was played at the fag end of the season. Realising the importance of the fixture, the BCCI moved it to the beginning of the season. Since 1965-66, it has traditionally heralded the start of the new domestic season. The Irani Trophy game ranks very high in popularity and importance. It is one of the few domestic matches that is followed with keen interest by cricket lovers in the country. Leading players take part in the game which has often been a sort of selection trial to pick the Indian team for foreign tours.

Duleep Trophy

The Duleep Trophy competition was started by the Board of Control for Cricket in India in 1961-62 with the aim of providing a greater competitive edge in domestic cricket - because, apart from the knock-out stages of the Ranji Trophy, that competition proved predictable, with Bombay winning for fifteen consecutive years. The Duleep was also meant to help the selectors in assessing form. The original format was that five teams, drawn from the five zones, play each other on a knock-out basis. From the 1993-94 season, the competition has been converted to a league format.

Harbhajan Singh Memorabilia

Singh's Magnificent Hat Trick

Own a piece of Indian Cricket History

On the 1st Day of the 2nd Test, India versus Australia, in March 2001, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Harbhajan Singh achieved what no other Indian cricketer had ever done - he snared a magnificent Hat Trick.
Limited Edition Magnificent photographic collage of the three dismissals with the hat trick at Calcutta capturing photograph in each piece being personally signed by Harbhajan Singh. Each piece .encased in a timber frame with Perspex glazing and is supported by A-Tag microchip authentication technology, and comes complete with a Certificate of Authenticity.
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Editor: Nishanth Gopinathan.