If those baniyas who make up the Indian cricket board could only do things a bit more professionally…Zee obviously won the bid through unfair means…
…firts it was the spat with ICC…than with the SA board over the schedule and now this…these buggers are doing worse than the Indian cricket team…
Australia threaten to scrap tour
Wisden Cricinfo staff
September 20, 2004
Cricket Australia has threatened to cancel the upcoming tour to India if the television rights issue is not resolved soon, according to the BBC website. It is understood that Australian officials have told the Indian board that not telecasting the matches is unacceptable.
The letter from Cricket Australia explained that the Australian board could be in trouble with its sponsor, Travelex, if the matches were not broadcast live. BCCI officials read out the letter during the court hearings, urging everyone to conclude the matter quickly. KK Venugopal, the Indian board’s legal representative, said that the board was under significant pressure and that “time is running out for us”.
The BCCI’s television rights, which attracted bids as high as US$308million, were disputed when ESPN-Star Sports took Zee Television to court, claiming that they did not fulfill a clause which required bidders to have two years’ broadcasting experience. The Bombay high court ordered that Zee - which was awarded the rights after a protracted tussle - would not be permitted to broadcast any matches until the matter was resolved. The court also ordered that the rights would go to no-one else in the interim - a decision that put the board in a fix, because it meant that they could not even provide the third umpire with replays.
The Australian board had earlier said they were following the developments closely, and would stay in touch with Indian board officials. But with the tense message stated loud and clear, it now appears that the threat of legal action has prompted Cricket Australia to take a more proactive stand on the issue.
