India’s cricket tour of Australia will go ahead as scheduled despite racism and umpiring rows, the Indian cricket board announced on Tuesday.
”The working committee of the Indian board took note of all relevant circumstances and developments and decided that Indian team’s tour to Australia should continue for the present,” Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Niranjan Shah said in a statement.
He said the board would ”review the tour and all other developments continuously”.
Doubts over the tour arose after the BCCI ordered the Indian team to remain in Sydney and not proceed to Canberra for a practice match starting on Thursday.
The move came after India objected to umpire Steve Bucknor standing in the series and match referee Mike Procter’s decision to ban off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for three Tests on racial-abuse charges.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) acceded to India’s demand on Tuesday by replacing Jamaican Bucknor with New Zealander Billy Bowden for the third Test starting in Perth on January 16.
India had demanded Bucknor’s removal following umpiring errors in the second Test in Sydney, which Australia won by 122 runs on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the four-match series.
The ICC’s chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle of Sri Lanka will also be flown to Perth to ”help the two captains in re-establishing an atmosphere of goodwill and mutual respect between the two teams”, the ICC said.
The ICC also decided to appoint a code of conduct commissioner to adjudicate on India’s appeal against Procter’s decision to ban Harbhajan for alleged racist remarks against Australian player Andrew Symonds.
It said Harbhajan would be allowed to play the final two Tests in Perth and Adelaide until the commissioner, who has yet to be named, had completed his inquiry. — AFP
