Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar demanding payment for CAC roles, a hoax
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The legendary trio of Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar were reported to have asked the BCCI to pay them for their roles in coach selection. However, in a later statement, the Indian board clarified that the news was falsified and asked the concerned agency to take the report off.
The Cricket Advisory Committee met on Thursday after India's match against Sri Lanka to discuss the ongoing issue of the appointment of a new head coach for the Indian team. During the same meeting, it was reported by Indian Express that the big three of Indian cricket namely Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar expressed to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri that they did not want their services to remain honorary and wanted to be renumerated for their roles in the CAC.
However, the BCCI clarified that the news was based on unfounded and incorrect facts in a recent statement it released.
"The contents of this(report of alleged remuneration request) article are malicious and such attempts to dilute and misrepresent the continued contribution of these former legends of Indian Cricket are totally incorrect and unfounded. BCCI wishes to reiterate the fact that the guidance and recommendations of the CAC are invaluable for the betterment of Indian cricket and we urge the publication to withdraw the said article and make suitable amends." read the BCCI statement.
Sourav Ganguly is the current president of the Cricket Association of Bengal(CAB) and both Ganguly and Laxman are contracted with BCCI as official commentators. The demand for being paid was first raised
It was reported that one of the committee members had requested a contract from BCCI at that time but it was Dalmiya himself who dismissed it.
“According to him, the BCCI does not traditionally pay its committee members. The members are provided accommodation, daily allowance and a car on days of meetings. This is what is extended to CAC,” said a former BCCI office bearer.
“Even at that point, we had sent them a ‘scope of work’ document. They sent it back to us, but we expressed our helplessness. The ‘scope of work’ document had the terms of reference, but no monetary commitment,” said a BCCI official.
Dalmiya had expressed happiness over the formation of the committee at that point stating,"I am happy to note that our eminent cricketers have come forward to lend their experience and insights as we work towards a common goal of taking Indian cricket to greater heights. The coming generations are bound to benefit from the guidance that will be provided by these luminaries and will go a long way in strengthening our existing system."
Anurag Thakur, the residing BCCI secretary during 2015 had quoted,"The noble intention to ‘give back to the game is commendable."
Addendum: "An earlier version of this article published at 9:53 AM incorrectly pointed out that the CAC trio had asked for remuneration. It has since been updated and we regret the error"
