Disappointed Fiji cricket fans
THERE was disappointment among Fiji cricket fans when the Indian cricket team was denied permission to visit and play Fiji before returning home in the 1980s.
Speaking from the Hilton Hotel in Melbourne, team manager Srinivas Venkataraghvan sounded disappointed as he relayed the decision of his president.
His views were recorded by The Fiji Times on January 15, 1987.
Venkataraghvan, a former Indian Test player in the early 1970s, said he was very disappointed that they were not granted permission.
“Permission has not been granted by my president and it appears as though it is too late,” he said.
He said he spoke to the president of the Indian Cricket Board, Sriraman in Sydney and then in Melbourne on Monday but unfortunately he could not obtain permission for the extended visit.
“The board makes the final decision and Mr Sriraman alone cannot give per-mission for us to come to Fiji,” Venkataraghvan said.
He said the only way permission would be granted was if a meeting of ICB was convened in India immediately but that looked doubtful.
While casting gloom on the hopes of the cricket fans here with his statement he went on to say philosophically “of course if there is a will there is a way, but in all honesty the trip is very much in doubt”.
When asked when it could be possible for the Indian team to travel to Fiji in the near future, he said he did not know since he was only the manager for the current tour.
But the former Test spinner did advise that in future a visit was to be organised earlier so that all factors could be taken into account.
“We have to first attend to Test commitments, local competition and any other commitments, and all of this is very strenuous so it would be good if everything was properly organised,” he said.
But an executive member of the Fiji Cricket Association found out the Indian team would not be stopping in Singapore and Malaysia on the way home.
The FCA in the meantime had to play a wait-and-see game, in anticipation of a telex message from the Indian board.
While expressing disappointment, an FCA official said he would rather wait for an official message.
The Indian team last toured Fiji in 1981 under the captaincy of Sunil Gavaskar, who broke his two-year century drought in Australia with two more tons to his credit.
They played two matches here, the first a two-day fixture in Lautoka and the second a limited over one-day game in Suva.
India won both matches, winning the first by 222 runs after Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and former Test player Kirti Azad ail hit centuries.
In Suva they repeated the win by a 58-run margin at Albert Park.
■ THE FIJI TIMES
January 15, 1988 THE new Government
ship Kaunitoni was delayed on her maiden voyage for a further six hours yesterday because of bad weather. But she was due to leave about midnight last night carrying the Director of Marine, Captain John Harrison. A heavy downpour in Suva late yesterday afternoon meant that hatches had to be closed and cargo loading had to stop. A spokesman for Kaunitoni
told us late last might the ship would be carrying about 70 passengers and a cargo of about 150
tons.
■ THE FIJI TIMES