Image courtesy of: The Hindu
Lorgat is willing to do everything in his power to improve ties with the BCCI
Former International Cricket Council (ICC) CEO Haroon Lorgat, who was recently elected as Cricket South Africa’s new chief executive, has announced that improving ties between himself and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is his top priority.
Lorgat’s comments come after the BCCI stated that they were mulling over the possibility of cancelling the national team’s tour to South Africa at the end of the year due to Lorgat’s appointment.
The BCCI have had their share of feuds with Lorgat while he was at the ICC over everything ranging from the Decision Review System (DRS) to the Future Tours Programme (FTP) to the ICC’s corporate governance review.
However, despite the BCCI threatening to pull out of the South Africa tour, Cricket South Africa remain confident that the tour will go ahead as planned.
“We went to India and talked to the president of the BCCI and they raised their concerns about Haroon [Lorgat],” Cricket South Africa president, Chris Nenzani, said. “We told them, ‘We will not undermine your concerns but we will have to take decision based on the interests of CSA.’ We have a long history of friendship and a good relationship with the BCCI and we value that relationship. We have no reason to believe this appointment will jeopardise the relationship in any way.”
Nenzani noted that he had received “no information the tour will not go ahead” and added that the two boards are still in talks about altering the tour’s itinerary.
India are supposed to play two Twenty20 Internationals, seven ODIs and three Test matches against South Africa from November 21 to January 19, but the BCCI want the tour to be shortened, which could see the three Test matches being played first.
Lorgat noted that he was “saddened” by the poor relationship between himself and the BCCI and added that he thought whatever issues they had in the past had been put to bed.
“I am saddened by these inferences and I did not expect such a poor relationship to have formed,” Lorgat said. “I don’t like to be out of favour with someone I thought was a friend. I will do my best to understand the concerns.”
However, with the BCCI being the world’s most powerful and wealthiest cricket board, Lorgat announced that he was willing to go the extra mile to strengthen ties with the BCCI.
“If I need to sit across a table, to go to India, whatever it takes to smooth things over, I have to put CSA first,” he added. “When the issues come out, if it means I have offended someone and I need to apologise, I will.”
Lorgat also stated that he was not looking to further anger the BCCI.
“We have to respect India and it’s up to me to fix up anything that needs patching,” he said.
When asked if the BCCI have too much power and control over the cricketing world, Lorgat said: “I think in anything too much dominance of one person is not good. But I also think we should not begrudge strong people. We should aspire to be as strong as they are.”
With Lorgat officially taking over the role of chief executive from August 1, it marks an end to the 10-month wait Cricket South Africa have had to endure to find a suitable replacement for Gerald Majola, who was fired in October last year.
Majola was sacked for keeping bonuses and Lorgat has vowed to clean up Cricket South Africa’s image amongst the cricketing community.
“What’s happened in the past was not what anybody wanted to see,” Lorgat said. “I am confident the reputation will improve. I am impressed by the new board and I think we have good people who will ensure corporate governance.”
However, Lorgat also thanked Majola for “leading the organisation for almost a decade”, despite his corrupt practices towards the end of his time.