On the ICC meeting not being as stormy as expected

I don’t know why you expected a stormy meeting, after all, whenever there is a world body get together all the issues are resolved through debate and then ultimately going into the democratic process; so nothing is going to be stormy as long as democracy exists. That is what democracy is all about.

On whether there is a bias against India in International cricket

I don’t think that there is any bias; there are certain decisions that are taken and like-minded people get together when there are conglomerations. People may feel either side, that there is bias, but people have asked me as to whether an ICC split is on the cards; but ICC is a world bodied organization, so how can it split?

Argument says that certain people take some decisions, but that does not mean that the whole world is going on that path. There is no scope for bias since, in a democratic process, whatever path the majority decides is where the association goes; and so there is no scope for bias or any split.

On whether it's better to concentrate on the game and let bygones be bygones.

It is not just better but it is the best and only way that the Indian cricket board and the Indian team has to play the game on the field and thus there are no two opinions about it. As far as the ICC is concerned it is our duty to protect our players if they were given harsh treatment; but that is another issue.

On him being able to win more matches than Sachin

Once I took over as the BCCI president, the first thing I tried to do, is that when I started talking many people were joking and so I said that accountability should be there. Accountability doesn’t come at the lower level, it starts with the president. I started off with the physical trainer and coach that we got from outside and in turn our results have gone down instead but when I started talking to them and when I asked them questions they put back counter questions and that was very valid. I asked the trainer that there have been some new players in the team and how come only the young players are on the injured list as compared to the senior players. He asked me a counter question, saying that players who are in the team for 3-4 years are tuned to have physical training, but the newcomers have never heard about physical training; when we give them the programme they do it for 48 hours and after 72 hours I am treating them.

The coach said to me that suppose you have a domestic level player who is performing consistently well and he is thrown to the international level, but till he is in the senior team, there is no international exposure, so how do you expect them to perform. So this way they came up with several counter questions and I thought that at our level it is necessary to correct ourselves.

On how does the BCCI plan to make the domestic circuit more attractive and viable

We are trying now to make domestic cricket more competitive and in the process it will become more attractive and more watchable, automatically. Our goal is not just to make it attractive; making it attractive in terms of improving standards; yes, and we have sufficient money for the time being and so it has taken a back seat.

Arun Lal (former India cricketer): The domestic cricketer has to make money and it has to be a viable career alternative for my son to play cricket. Suppose my son is good enough in his studies and he has a chance to do an MBA or a chance to play Ranji Trophy; I would tell him to do MBA, because only the people at the top are making money, enough to raise a family on.

Dalmiya: What Arun is talking is from the players viewpoint, and I was talking from the administrative viewpoint, but as far as reducing the gap between Test and domestic cricket, that is on our agenda and we are looking into it. In terms of the playing side of the matter, we have made it obligatory for the every State association that every player who plays Ranji trophy must have a physical trainer and each unit is being given a total gym from the board to help the trainers.

On why we don't concentrate on our 'A' teams

In the last four months we have packed our programme as such that one time one team is coming to India and one is going out. We have already finalized with Sri Lanka, Australia and South Africa. In the last working committee we have given them 12 or 13 tours in three years and not only ‘A’ teams but also under-19 and in another two months you will see a packed schedule for the next eight or ten years.

On how long will it take for the N.C.A [National Cricket Academy] to start showing results

In the last few months, I can’t say that we have won each and every match we have played, but definitely now, unlike earlier, if you go to the reserve bench there are 25-30 players. You see the ‘A’ team that has gone to South Africa and West Indies and the people who have been left behind; if you add them up it makes the number. Once your reserve bench is full, your supply line is assured.

On what has happened to the pitches committee

Sachin Tendulkar: Well I had said quite a few things when I was captain in 1996-1997. I had made a statement that the Board should take it seriously and also the groundsmen. Domestic cricket needs to be changed completely and we can do that by changing the tracks we need to have sporting tracks, and it needs to support the fast bowlers and then the spinners, so that it becomes a very fair game.

Dalmiya: The subject of the pitches was taken up as back as 1995-1996, when the pitches committee was made under Kapil and a few others but their role was restricted to going to the various grounds before an international match and seeing whether the pitch was all right. In the last working committee we have decided to take up 10 grounds and use the local and zonal people .... are being appointed for our pitches committee. Also the state of the pitches depends on the soil and climatic conditions and so one of the steps has been taken that by the time we take up this ground already the pitch cover has been dispersed. We have started the process. We are taking up 10 grounds on a trial basis and if we succeed we will take up all the grounds next year.

Sourav Ganguly (India captain): I have said it before and captains in the past have also said that the wickets in domestic cricket need to improve and the Board has to take special care and you have got to be forthright now. I know India is a big country and there are so many states playing this game and you need to monitor every track in every part of the country. Something has to be started because some of the tracks for domestic cricket are atrocious. We played the Ranji trophy semi-finals against the Railways in New Delhi, and I am not taking away any credit from the Railways, but playing cricket on that sort of a track has no meaning. So that needs to be looked after and tracks need to be improved.

On why only the major centres have been chosen in the ten wickets selected by the pitches committee

We have chosen these 10 wickets because they have better infrastructure facilities; these places have more that one ground; they have 2, 5, 10 grounds. We can insist on the under-19 players and we can get results. In our country either there are horticulturists or agriculturists, but there are no curators and that is the problem and if we choose bigger centers from there we can choose the curators and then send them to the smaller centers. So there is a thought behind our decision to choose those grounds.

On whether elections are killing the smooth functioning of the board

When you are in a democracy then elections are a part of it; one good thing about this board is that you have elections but once the elections are over everyone gets together. Maybe, everyone has to take the blame but people from the media have a lot to do with it.

You must have seen that we have talent resource development officers and we have taken one former member from each zone, and we are trying to bring them and the selection committee in place. A man from the East will not see any matches from the East and he will not recommend a single boy from the East and he may be assigned, say the center, and similarly the center man may go to the West and so on and so this is in the process already. We also have the scorecard system; if someone is recommending a player, then there must be certain things that he must have seen and we then have to analyze the qualities that the gentleman saw and again here the question of accountability comes in. There is also a feeling that a lot of players might have been pushed in through the quota system, from 2-3 years. I can give you the names that have played constantly -- Sachin, Sourav, Rahul, Azhar, Jadeja, Robin, Kumble, Srinath, Prasad and Mongia, so what would the zonal people be doing? They would be fighting and might be in jail by now. I am not saying that it does not happen, but it does not happen when you choose the 11 but when you choose the 14.

On why we dont have a Chief Executive in charge of Indian cricket

What is really needed in Indian cricket is that administration is left to the administrators, and the administrators as a rule should not interfere with the experts, and once they come together only then a solid body will be made and its pillars will be strong.

On why we change managers before every tour

The concept and the name have changed; earlier we were taking this technical person on a year-to-year basis. What happens here is that to bring in the continuity; about 3-4 years back that system came I that there should be a year-to-year renewal. An administrative manager is only to look after the logistics, a constant touch with the host board and so whoever is going to the administrative manager, he should be a known person in the board. There is very little interaction with the team and the administrative manager and the gentleman who is going now is not going for the first time; he went with the under-19 squad to South Africa earlier. I don’t think anything needs to be changed if it is on for the last 30-40 years.

On whether he is happy with how the board is being run

I think that it is a question for you to answer and I leave it to you and the viewers to decide and let me know; and if any suggestions come, which have not yet been suggested and they are good for Indian cricket, then they will be implemented.

- courtesy © ESPN-STAR Sports