Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, the former India legspinner, has joined Sri
Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara as a players' representative on the ICC cricket
committee, replacing the Federation of International Cricketers'
Associations (FICA) chief executive, Tim May*. Sivaramakrishnan,
currently a commentator on Indian television, is learnt to have beaten
May in a fiercely contested election that saw intense lobbying by both
sides.
The ICC confirmed Sivaramakrishnan's appointment in a release on Monday,
saying: "Sangakkara and Sivaramakrishnan were recently elected by a
vote of the 10 Test captains, and will serve on the Cricket Committee
for a three-year term from 2013-15." Former England captain Andrew
Strauss has replaced Ian Bishop as 'Past Player representative', the
release said. "Strauss is one of the two Past Player representatives
(replacing Ian Bishop), while Sivaramakrishnan is one of the two Current
Player representatives (replacing Tim May). The other Current Player
representative is former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, who has
been on the committee since 2007."
Based on nominations received by it, the ICC board had proposed three
names - those of Sangakkara, May and Sivaramakrishnan - for the two
players' representative positions. Sangakkara, sole current player, is
expected to be elected unanimously while Sivaramakrishnan is believed to
have received six of the ten votes in the other slot, for former
players. The representatives are elected by the captains of the ten
Test-playing countries, who cast their votes in a secret online ballot.
Sivaramakrishnan had been backed by the BCCI, which, ESPNcricinfo has
confirmed, contacted at least one other member country "requesting"
support. He is also believed to have been backed by one more country,
independent of the BCCI. Incidentally, though he has been elected as a
players' representative, India has no recognised players' association.
May, the former Australia offspinner, has been the public voice of
players' concerns globally since establishing FICA in 1998. He was,
however, handicapped by the fact that FICA is recognised by only five
Full Members of the ICC: Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa
and West Indies, the first four of whom are understood to have supported
his nomination.
Apart from FICA's limited global influence, one factor that is believed
to have gone against May was his sustained criticism of the running of
Twenty20 tournaments including the IPL, Sri Lankan Premier League and
the Bangladesh Premier League. It is believed that this won him few
friends on the Asian boards.
Tony Irish, the chief executive of the South African players
association, criticised the BCCI's interventionist approach to the
election process. "It's a sad day for the governance of cricket when
players aren't allowed to freely elect their representatives," Irish was
quoted as saying. "Cricket is a global game and the decisions that are
made should be global decisions for the benefit of the global game, not
for the benefit of one country, whichever country that is."
However, a member of a board that voted for Sivaramakrishnan contested
that view. "It is disingenuous for FICA or its supporters to protest
because in an election, candidates canvas votes and FICA did the same
thing on Tim May's behalf. The fact is that May didn't have the support
of many captains and that showed in the votes. Suggestions that May had
the support of nine captains to start with are completely baseless."
The ICC cricket committee is a leading decision-maker for the game's
governing body in on-field matters, including playing conditions such as
the use of the DRS to review umpiring decisions. It is headed by Anil
Kumble, the former Indian captain, and includes Andrew Strauss and Mark
Taylor (past players), Gary Kirsten (Full Member team coach
representative), David White (Member board representative), Steve Davis
(umpires' representative), Ranjan Madugalle (match referees'
representative), John Stephenson (MCC representative), David Kendix
(statistician), Trent Johnston (Associate representative), Ravi Shastri
(media representative) and Clare Connor (women's representative).
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