Dave Richardson hopes to convince Anil Kumble about DRS

Dave Richardson

Dave Richardson, the International Cricket Council (ICC) CEO, is hopeful of changing the BCCI’s stance opposing the Decision Review System (DRS) by first convincing ICC Cricket Committee chief Anil Kumble about its resourcefulness.

“Can Kumble convince the BCCI? First of all, we must convince Mr. Kumble. I’m more worried about them taking part in the debate rather than just sitting outside refusing to even talk about it,” the ICC chief executive said during a media interaction on Friday.

“At the moment, Anil Kumble chairs the ICC cricket committee. He’s a member of a working group set up to specifically review DRS and how technology is going to be used in the future. I don’t want to put a time limit on it,” he added.

He said, “India hasn’t accepted the DRS. How long would it take to convince BCCI? Your guess is as good as mine. I don’t think we should limit ourselves to a certain time. BCCI will make up their mind in due course. All that we need to make sure is that they’re at least privy to the latest information so that they understand the quality of the technology that is available.”

With BCCI President N.Srinivasan set to take over as ICC Chairman in June, Richardson also hopes that the BCCI will be more involved and play an active role in the governance of the parent body.

“As the CEO of the organisation which he (Srinivasan) chairs, I will be having regular meetings with him. What I like about the position is that for the first time, the BCCI will be very much part of the governance structure, playing a full role in developing the strategy going forward. So I am looking forward to working with the BCCI,” he said.

“Their (BCCI) approach was always to sit on the outside, not to partake in developing strategy. They left that to the other people. Now for the first time, they have taken the responsibility on their shoulders to lead in developing the strategy,” he said.

Richardson is hoping for an inclusive structure with all the full members actively involved in the decision making process.

The ICC CEO did express his concern in an understated manner about the change in leadership of the Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB) with Najam Sethi replacing Zaka Ashraf as chairman. He feels that it is important that the member nations do their homework and be aware of the happenings.

“The ICC being a members’ organisation, it is incumbent on each and every member who sits on the Board to do his best to contribute to the good of the sport – to understand the issues, to come to meetings having read the papers and to fully participate in the decision-making processes. And that applies to all member countries, not only Pakistan.”