Sharad pawar’s appointment as the International Cricket Council (ICC) president has given an opportunity for his critics to fire yet another salvo. Pawar, who has weathered the IPL controversy, does not see any problem in simultaneously discharging his ministerial responsibilities and his new assignment as ICC chief. In an exclusive interview with Sanjay Jog, Pawar, who controls Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution portfolios, apart from being the president of Mumbai Cricket Association, spoke on various issues. Edited excerpts:
Critics have come out in the open against your appointment, saying it will affect your ministerial responsibilities. What would you have to say?
I do not see any problem. In any case, the ICC headquarters is in Dubai, just two-and-a-half hours away from where I work. Incidentally, Dubai works on Saturdays and Sundays, so I can return to Delhi on Sunday night and start my ministerial job from Monday. I do not have to work on a daily basis because at the ICC most of the decisions are communicated through emails. Visiting Dubai two days every fortnight is not going to affect my ministerial works. I would like to say that I have been the president of the prestigious Mumbai Cricket Association for the last decade. I worked hard for the betterment of cricket by concentrating on the development of the infrastructure. Subsequently, I assumed the office of the BCCI president while continuing to discharge my ministerial responsibilities. I want to reiterate that I do not see any problem now.
Are you still pursuing your demands with the Prime Minister for the appointment of two more ministers of state to share your workload?
It’s true that right now there is only one minister of state working with me. I may require two more hands to help him carry out his responsibilities. I will first discuss it with the Prime Minister and am confident that he would take a pragmatic approach as usual.
Would you still pursue allocating one of your ministries to someone else?
I will place my views before the Prime Minister.
The rejection of nomination of former Australian Prime Minister John Howard for the post of ICC vice president has led to a controversy as ICC may split on racial and political lines. Can you throw some light on this?
I want to categorically deny any racism or division on the rejection of former Australian Prime Minister John Howard’s nomination for the ICC vice presidentship. The former Australian PM just didn’t get enough support in a democratically-held election. The majority did not support him. Ultimately in any democratic organisation, there has to be support from the majority but that was not there in his case. As per the ICC constitution a support of seven out of 10 members is required for the nomination. There is no question of racism or politics.
What will be your priorities?
I would concentrate on expanding cricket in the US, China, east European countries, Russia and Africa. This will lead to expansion in the market too. I would make all efforts to preserve all formats of the game. Today we have 105 countries who are ICC members. At present, five–day test, one day internationals and T20 matches are played. Whether this format needs to be changed, I would consult with member countries. Further, I would concentrate on expanding women’s cricket. My attempt would be to make women’s cricket equally popular. Broadcasters have a major role in the game of cricket. I would like to seek their support. Whatever money ICC gets it is distributed among the members. I would expect member countries to spend the money on development of infrastructure, training academies, good quality grounds. I want the money to be used properly for the development of cricket.