BCCI's denial cancels cricketers' felicitation ceremony

Felicitation of former Delhi cricketers was proposed by the Delhi Government, but denied by the BCCI

The BCCI, on Saturday, denied the Delhi Government the permission to organize a felicitation ceremony for the World Cup winning cricketers from the State of Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium. The ceremony was proposed to be organized inside the field of play, which the BCCI said, would have violated norms.

10 legends of the game, including Bishan Singh Bedi, Mohinder Amarnath, Madan Lal, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were supposed to be felicitated for their contributions to Indian cricket, but the BCCI denied access to the field of play. The ground is currently hosting the 4th Test match between India and South Africa of the ongoing Paytm Freedom Series.

"The BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur sent an email that it would not allow any felicitation to be held in the playing arena during the course of the Test match. The message was conveyed around 10 pm at night. It stated that it cannot allow anything inside the field of play,” DDCA treasurer Ravinder Manchanda said.

Virender Sehwag, however, was felicitated before the commencement of the Test match on Thursday, but that was a BCCI event.

Manchanda clarified: "It was a BCCI function. This is the function of a third party during an ICC-accredited match. So BCCI said that nothing can be done inside the playing arena."

BCCI offered the proposal of organizing it outside the field of play in one of the galleries, but the Delhi Government refused. Bedi had already reached the stadium when he was told about the cancellation.

"It's not me but Delhi government that has been denied its privileges. I did not represent BCCI. Don't wish to say anything more," Bedi said.

Kirti Azad, another India cricketer, however, wasn’t pleased at all with what had transpired.

“I see a more sinister design in all this. The situation has gone from bad to worse. If this move had Shashank Manohar's okay, then I am sorry to say, I am disappointed."

Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, was supposed to take a lap of honour of the stadium, and the air time requested was also provided between 9:05 AM to 9:15 AM. But the Delhi Police objected to that saying that for the CM to take a round of the stadium, tight security arrangements would have been required.

Also, the ground during the match belongs to the ICC Match Referee and the BCCI, and hence, the third party interference wasn’t permitted. The DDCA had just met the deadline of December 17 set by the BCCI to clear its dues to various parties, in what had become a major hindrance to the 4th Test to be held there.