But Dhoni or no Dhoni, Chennai Super Kings will be the biggest losers because of country-above-IPL clause of the Champions League.
MUMBAI: Long before the Champions League was launched, three top officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had an informal chat on Mahendra Singh Dhoni. N Srinivasan, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) owner, jovially asked secretary Niranjan Shah if he would spare Dhoni for the Champions League final, ahead of a Test against Australia. Shah replied in negative stating he cannot spare the team’s wicket-keeper and vice-captain.
Another official, who was privy to the conversation, told the Chennai Super Kings’ owner in a lighter vein that he doesn’t have to worry because Shah would not be the secretary then.
Interestingly enough, Srinivasan, the current BCCI treasurer, may himself have to
answer the question. He is now tipped to be the next secretary of the BCCI and eventually it could be his own call whether or not to let his captain play the final of the Champions League, scheduled a day before the start of the first Test against Australia on October 9.
On Thursday, Srinivasan could not be contacted, but a CSK official said the BCCI the treasurer, known for his no-nonsense approach, is aware of the priorities.
At this point of time, though, the BCCI is not exactly worried about the Dhoni issue, as such a situation will arise only in the eventuality of the Chennai Super Kings reaching the final, scheduled to be held on October 8.
Yet, Shah says they have a contingency plan ready. “We’re aware of the situation and we will take a call at the right time,” he said.
Shah may be relinquishing his position after BCCI AGM on September 27 and 28 but he could still have a say. The selection committee meeting to pick team for the first two matches of the four-Test series against Ricky Ponting & Co, will be held before the AGM and it will be Shah who will be convening the meeting. It will be his responsibility to ensure participation of all the players.
But Dhoni or no Dhoni, Chennai Super Kings will be the biggest losers because of country-above-IPL clause of the Champions League. As per the rule, the Chennai team is set to lose the services of Matthew Hayden and Mike Hussey for the tournament as the Cricket Australia (CA) has made it clear that they want the senior batsmen to play in the warm-up game (from October 2 to 5) in the run-up to the first Test.
The Australian team is to arrive in India on September 29. It was not known if the two players can be allowed to play in the initial matches before the practice match.
The Super Kings would thanking their stars that they would not lose Albie Morkel. Their star all-rounder plays for Pretoria’s Titans, who are one of the two teams from South Africa for the tournament.
The rules say the IPL team has the access to the player over his domestic team thus; Morkel would be playing for Chennai not Titans.
The other Indian team in the league, Rajasthan Royals (RR), are also not without anxiety, if not worry. They could be losing their star performer if the Australian selectors pick Shane Watson in their tour party to India. Watson has been in awesome form since turning up for RR in the IPL, having emerged as the man-of-the-series in the recent five-match ODI series against the West Indies in the Caribbean.
If he were to be picked, then Ponting’s gain could be Shane Warne’s loss.
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