Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) president Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Sabah has launched a scathing attack on India over its refusal to enter a cricket team at the Asian Games, saying its decision was “killing” the sport.
Twenty20 Cricket was added to the Games program four years ago as a way to try and promote the sport in the region, but India, the world’s richest and most influential cricketing nation, has steadfastly refused to send a men’s or women’s team to either the 2010 or current edition of the event.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India said its players were too busy with their other commitments. The Asian Games, which ended in South Korea on Saturday, clashed with the lucrative Champions League Twenty20 in India.
Yet Sheikh Ahmed said India’s stance was short-sighted and damaging the sport.
“They are killing cricket, limiting the NOCs [National Olympic Committees’] participating in cricket and killing the market,” Sheikh Ahmad told a news conference in Incheon yesterday. “Sorry to say this as a sports fan, but this is the reality. This is why cricket is only a Commonwealth sport.”
India has also opposed the inclusion of cricket at other multisport events, including the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics — a stance that has put them at odds with other cricketing nations and players.
Current Twenty20 world champions Sri Lankasent a team to the Asian Games and won the men’s gold medal, beating Afghanistan in the final.
Pakistan won the women’s gold for the second time in a row, but followed India’s lead and did not send a men’s team because many of its best players are competing in the big-spending Champions League.
Australia’s players have been vocal in arguing that cricket should be on the Olympic program, but the International Cricket Council has been opposed to the idea.
Sheikh Ahmed, one of the most powerful men in the Olympic movement, said the OCA could not force India to compete at the Asian Games, but he was disappointed by its stance.
“When we put a sport in a program, we always wish to have the top athletes here,” he added. “I’m sorry that the Indian delegate did not attend. We have to respect their own request. The people in charge want money. This is not a sport, this is business.”
“I hope in future they will understand to keep it as your baby in your chest — it’s not your personal toy, it’s the people’s game and you have to deliver it for the people,” he said.
“You can be rich by the game but you have to cover the other sector, and this is why cricket is still only a Commonwealth sport,” Sheikh Ahmed added.
The increasing influence of India’s mega-rich Twenty20 leagues has come under widespread criticism in recent years, with former players and administrators complaining that they have become too powerful and could be fueling corruption in the game.
Last month, former England all-rounder Ian Botham called for the Indian Premier League (IPL) to be scrapped because it was taking players away from representing their own countries.
Botham said he also feared that the Premier League could unwittingly fuel corruption and gambling — a scourge which has tarnished the sport’s image in recent years.
The current chairman of the International Cricket Council is Narayanaswami Srinivasan, an Indian industrialist who is currently being investigated over a betting scam on Premier League matches.
Earlier this year, India’s top court ordered Srinivasan to stand down as BCCI president after his son-in-law was indicted for illegal betting on the top league.
“Corruption is enough of a problem in itself, but the IPL compounds that problem given it provides the perfect opportunity for betting and therefore fixing,” Botham said.
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