CSA, BCCI must now shake hands

WHEN Haroon Lorgat was appointed Cricket SA chief executive in July, it seemed like a good move. The former International Cricket Council (ICC) boss surely had the credentials to rebuild an organisation ailing from the Indian Premier League (IPL) bonus scandal under his predecessor, Gerald Majola.

Yet, just shy of six months later, even Lorgat must be questioning the wisdom of taking on the position such has been the plethora of allegations which have swirled around his head.

The latest row stems from his appearances at some of the internationals between South Africa and India last month, a tour with which Lorgat was supposed to have no contact following an agreement with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

If there was not an element of seriousness to the allegations, they would actually be laughable.

The whole sorry saga stems from apparent clashes between Lorgat and the BCCI during his time as the ICC chief executive. The Indians took a bad turn when Lorgat was appointed CSA boss.

Then things became a bit more complicated when CSA legal consultant David Becker, who had worked for the ICC during Lorgat’s tenure, accused BCCI president Narayanaswami Srinivasan of manipulating issues for his own benefit. With Becker’s links to CSA, Lorgat fell under suspicion and the ICC launched an inquiry into the matter.

Almost 10 weeks later, no news has been released on that inquiry and the BCCI now apparently want clarification on any Lorgat involvement with the Indian tour.

Surely it is time for the ICC to expedite their inquiry and for CSA and BCCI officials to speedily settle any other issues which may have arisen.

It is never good news when the administrators, rather than the players, are in the headlines. Whether there is any merit in these allegations, they need to be resolved in the boardroom.

And the sooner the parties involved attend to this, the better.