Dalmiya pushes cricket closer to civil war

Indian cricket chief Jagmohan Dalmiya pushed the world game closer to civil war on Wednesday by refusing to accept an International Cricket Council (ICC) deadline over the selection of a suspended player.

Dalmiya told a news conference in Calcutta that ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed had no right to ask the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to decide by noon on Friday whether or not Virender Sehwag would play in next week's first Test against England.

"The chief executive officer is asking for details of the team. I can't tell him that," Dalmiya told a news conference on Wednesday. "I do not know where this deadline has come from.

"Who can dictate a deadline to anyone? The team will only be named on the morning of the match."

The crisis, which could lead to England aborting their three-Test tour of India and split the ICC, began in South Africa when match referee Mike Denness handed Sehwag a one-game ban for dissent during the second Test.

South Africa acceded to an Indian request to remove Denness as the referee for the third Test, leading the ICC to strip the match of its official status.

SECURITY
Sehwag, who had scored a century in the first Test, did not play in the match and Indian authorities said they considered he had served his ban. The 23-year-old batsman was named on Wednesday in a 14-strong Indian squad for the first Test against England starting on Monday.

The ICC, maintaining that Sehwag was still suspended, set a Friday deadline for security reasons, citing concerns about the safety of the players and the public if the match was called off shortly before the start.

"There is no security problem in India," Dalmiya said on Wednesday. "The question of security has been unnecessarily raised."

Dalmiya also released a letter he has sent to Speed, pointing out that under the Code of Conduct final teams would not be announced until the morning of the match.

"You will appreciate that as a result of such prediction, both you and I could be subject to inquiries by the Anti-Corruption Unit, including whether there are financial implications to it," the letter said.

"I am sorry that I cannot take a chance in the matter and it's impossible for me or my board to comment whether Sehwag would be in the playing XI or not before the morning of the match."

England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Ian MacLaurin said on Wednesday that England would not agree to play an unofficial Test.

"We will not play a friendly Test match," he told BBC Radio. "We are here to play real cricket."

An ICC spokesman said the council considered Friday to be the key date.

"Hopefully, by Friday lunchtime the situation will have changed," he said.

India's tour of South Africa : Complete coverage

Mail Cricket Editor