BCCI appoints Bindra to minimise sanctions on Kotla

New Delhi, December 30: Well aware of the repercussions of the Kotla fiasco, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today appointed IS Bindra to negotiate the terms of sanctions with the ICC to minimise the punishment.

The Feroz Shah Kotla is in danger of losing all its World Cup matches in 2011 following the ‘unfit’ pitch that led to the abandonment of the fifth One-dayer between India and Sri Lanka on Sunday.

The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Code of Conduct clearly states, a ground that produces an unfit pitch could lose its Test and one-day status for a period of 12 to 24 months.

In 1997, an ODI between India and Sri Lanka was stopped after just three overs and the ICC banned the venue for two years.

But the BCCI will look to cash in on its financial clout and will try its best that Kotla does not face a ban for one year as the sanction would keep the venue out of World Cup.

The Indian board, however, is well aware of the gravity of the situation and is doing its best to tone down the ban, which seems inevitable, to a year.

Feroz Shah Kotla is scheduled to host four World Cup matches but a two-year ban will washout any such plans and the BCCI will have to look for alternative venues.

——Agencies