New Delhi: Asserting that “nothing has happened” in the past 10 months, Indian Cricketers’ Association president Ashok Malhotra on Monday (July 20) urged the BCCI to look into the body’s long-standing demands, saying the ageing former players cannot wait “forever”.
Malhotra, who has been accused by the ICA directors of making public statements and approaching BCCI on important matters concerning the players’ body without discussing them internally, said it is high time the Board pays heed to ICA’s demands.
The demands include pension for former players who have played less than 25 first-class games, pension for widows of former cricketers, increase in medical insurance from Rs 5 lakh to 10 lakh and a benevolent fund to Manoj Prabhakar, whose BCCI ban ended in 2005 for match-fixing charges against him.
“It has been close to 10 months (since the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI took charge) but nothing has happened for the former players. The ICA after all, is for the welfare of former cricketers and some of them who are as old as 70, cannot wait forever,” Malhotra told PTI.
“I request the BCCI again to look into our demands. There are three former cricketers on the BCCI Apex Council (Ganguly and ICA representatives Shantha Rangaswamy and Anshuman Gaekwad. I am sure they understand the plight of the former cricketers. Four meetings (Apex Council) have taken place but nothing has happened,” he said.
