Assam Cricket Association resents new rotation policy

The Assam Cricket Association (ACA) has expressed strong resentment at the new rotation policy of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which it feared would deprive Guwahati of a one-dayer in the forthcoming series against Australia.

"The ACA expresses strong resentment on the new rotation policy which is likely to be placed for approval in the BCCI working committee meeting on January 22 next," ACA honorary secretary Nandan Bezbaruah said here.

According to the new rotation policy which was circulated early this month, Guwahati is placed in 14th position and was unlikely to be awarded a match against the visiting Australians, he claimed.

Claiming that the old rotation policy released on May last year had provided a match to Assam, the ACA official said, "We are surprised to see a new rotation policy coming up at a time when Australia is arriving and there are clear indications that Guwahati and its sports loving people would be deprived of an international cricket match.

"Based on the old rotation policy the ACA has undertaken all measures to host the tie and is in a stage of preparation when the news of the new policy came."

Bezbaruah said it would be extremely 'unfair to change the policy all of a sudden and adopt a new one just before an upcoming series, depriving many venues its due share of ties'.

"Such a change," he said, "will benefit some associations at the cost of the others which is not only discriminatory and unwarranted but also would cause tension and bad feeling."

Bezbaruah said "It is reasonable and fair to complete a circle of the rotation presently in force and only then a change in the system of rotation may be effected."

He pointed out that the state governor Lt Gen (Retd) S K Sinha and Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta in separate letters to the BCCI president A C Muthiah had assured that the one-dayer "if allotted will be conducted in a fair and peaceful atmosphere and there is no apprehension of any untoward incident".

The Chief Minister in his letter to the BCCI, a copy of which was circulated to the press, urged the board to allot the international match as the situation in the state was "conducive".

Bezbaruha said the ACA had also urged Muthiah to consider the matter and take a favourable decision in the interest of cricket fans in the state.