BrisbaneNorg

BCCI Prez Sharad Pawar team Pulling out Real

Maintaining its tough stance, the BCCI has held out the threat that the Indian cricket team could be recalled from Australia unless the three-Test ban on off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was reversed.

The BCCI President Sharad Pawar was quoted in the Australian media as having said that the threat of the team pulling out was "real".

Pawar, said the BCCI would wait and watch what happened at the hearing of Harbhajan Singh's appeal against the ban imposed by Match Referee Mike Procter following Australian team's charge that he had called Andrew Symonds a "monkey".

 

The ICC has appointed a New Zealand judge as Appeals Commissioner.

Asserting that allegations of racism against a member of the Indian team was not acceptable, Pawar, confirming that he had been empowered by the Board to take any decision on the matter, said he would use the "power" in support of the off-spinner.

The ICC, which had yesterday expressed the hope that everybody will abide by the Appeals Commissioner's decision on the appeal, declined to comment on the threat held out by BCCI.

Pawar, who was in Kolkata on Friday, did not contradict the remarks attributed to him in the Australian media except to state vaguely "I have not heard anything about that."

Pawar, said BCCI would want the hearing to be held between the Test and ODI series, which has strengthened speculation that India may not play the three-nation ODI series involving it, Australia and Sri Lanka after the Tests.