BCCI has made cricket a viable career option in India, says N Srinivasan

N Srinivasan (left) was felicitated in Chennai yesterday

ICC Chairman N Srinivasan called BCCI a ‘misunderstood body’ in world cricket and said the Indian cricket body’s earnings are not for personal gains, but have helped to make cricket a viable career option in India.

Srinivasan was speaking at a felicitation organized by the general committee of The Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Madras Management Association to celebrate his ascent to the post of ICC Chairman on Tuesday evening. The event was attended by the who’s who of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in addition to a few eminent former cricketers namely VVS Laxman, who spoke about Srinivasan’s impact on Indian cricket, and Kris Srikkanth.

The friends of the 69-year old, who had all gathered at the function, reminisced about his early days and about how it is his persistence to overcome difficulties that has helped him to rise to the very top of cricket administration.

"Don't believe in each and every word of what they say, they are all friends after all," Srinivasan, almost sheepish at all the praise coming his way, said.

The BCCI honcho, though, did reiterate that his journey as an administrator has by no means been easy. "It was not easy, as some of my friends have said before. But our aim was to ensure that BCCI gets its due in every sector of world cricket," he said.

He also insisted that the large revenue being earned by the BCCI is not for the personal benefits of the board members and, in fact, the money being earned is put back into the grass roots in order to have the required facilities and stadia for budding young cricketers.

"BCCI is an extremely misunderstood body. The money that we earn is going into the development of cricket, into building stadium and infrastructure. We are being able to pay the cricketers more so that it can be taken up as a career option," Srinivasan said.

"There is lot of comments that BCCI is sitting over pots of money. No, It is not. Very clearly, BCCI is a not for profit organisation. BCCI is committed to its members, association and players."

He went on to add that nearly 26 percent of the revenue, which is being earned by the BCCI, is being paid to the international and domestic cricketers, making cricket a much more viable career option than at anytime in the past. The ex-BCCI head said that an average Ranji player, who was merely earning “hundreds” earlier, is now making Rs. 35,000 per day.

"He can become a professional player and it offers livelihood for them. This is what we have done to them," he concluded.