Haroon Lorgat sorry but BCCI in no mood to forgive

Cricket South Africa’s newly appointed chief executive Haroon Lorgat may have apologised for inadvertently drawing the Indian cricket board’s ire but the BCCI is not in a forgiving mood as of now.

dna has learnt that the BCCI is still furious over CSA’s decision to reward Lorgat with the plum post. It has emerged that officials of both the boards raised the issue of Lorgat’s appointment during the recent meeting in London where the Champions League 2013 fixtures were announced. In fact, the BCCI apparently said it didn’t rule out dropping South Africa as governing partner for the Champions League.

It is thought that BCCI big wig N Srinivasan is incensed over the latest development, although he has denied making any suggestions to oust CSA from the Champions League. “I’m on leave in Chennai, and have nothing to do with any cricketing matter,” he told dna.

The Champions League is deemed as a lucrative venture by the three owners — India, Australia and South Africa. Its television rights were sold for almost $1bn, with the Indian board getting the major share of the pie (50 per cent), followed by Australia (30 per cent) and South Africa (20 per cent).

The BCCI had taken offence to Lorgat advocating the Decision Review System (DRS) during his tenure as ICC chief and also held him responsible for Eden Gardens losing the 2011 World Cup match between India and England. Lorgat’s Woolf Report had largely threatened BCCI’s hegemony over world cricket.