Action unlikely against Clive Lloyd

The international Cricket Council is unlikely to take an immediate action on its cricket committee chairman Clive Lloyd. In fact, it is not likely that any action would be taken on the former West Indian captain, a strongly-worded complaint against him by the Board of Control for Cricket in India notwithstanding.

The BCCI took objection to Lloyd’s remarks in Mumbai recently that the Indian Cricket League and Indian Premier League can coexist. The Indian Board cited the example of Sunil Gavaskar who, it claimed, was forced to relinquish his ICC job for his remarks in the media.

A top ICC official told DNA on Friday that a parallel between Lloyd and Gavaskar cannot be drawn. “Gavaskar was part of a media organisation which is not in conformity with the ICC rules. Lloyd is not part of any media outlet. There is no similarity between the two cases,” a top Dubai-based ICC official told DNA.

“The CEO or the president of the ICC cannot fire the chairman of a cricket committee. It can only be the decision of the ICC Board,” said the ICC official adding: “If it wants, the BCCI may raise the issue at the Board meeting.” The next ICC Board meeting will take place some time in January.

When contacted, CEO of ICC Haroon Lorgat, however, confirmed receiving the Board’s letter but stated that the ICC would require time to look into the matter. “I will have to check on what context the statement was made. It will be some time before a decision is made,” Lorgat said.

The ICC may, however, seek an explanation from the West Indian on the context in which he made the statement that has been found ‘objectionable’ by the Indian Board.

Anyway, the ICC itself had once asked the BCCI and the ICL to explore a middle ground between them and the cricket committee chief was only emphasising that. The impression, one gets, is that Lloyd has not committed any cardinal sin that would warrant action.