Onus is on Karnataka govt: Thakur

 The Board Of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary, Anurag Thakur, has put the onus on Karnataka government with regard to City retaining the National Cricket Academy.

With the land deal between the BCCI the State govt running into legal tangle, the Indian cricket Board has decided to move the premier academy from its current location at the Chinnaswamy stadium to one of the three short-listed venues -- Mohali, Dharamsala and Pune. 

Speaking on the sidelines of the Annual Aawards’ Ceremony of the KSCA here, Thakur also touched on BCCI’s stance towards the Decision Review System (DRS), the fate of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League and more.

Excerpts:

On the future of the Nati­o­nal Cricket Academy: Ben­g­aluru is one of the best ce­n­tres for NCA. We have us­ed the facilities here for a long time now and the Indian cricket has been benefited out of it.  For the last eight to ten years, we have been knocking at the doors of the Karnataka government for land and after having paid 50 crore for no fault of ours, there is no response. If Karnataka cannot take a call by September, then we have to look at other avenues. Other States such as Maharashtra, Himachal Pr­adesh and Punjab have sho­wn interests. 

On his current goals for Indian cricket: We need to change the perception of people on BCCI. It is the only cricket board in the world to organise 900 matches in a season with 2100 playing days. It helps former cricketers to be support staffs and become commentators. Our efforts have not received the recognition that it deserves. Only a few concerns around the board are always highlighted.

On BCCI’s reservations on DRS:. May be the DRS can get a new look with the LBW decision being excluded. This idea can be discussed with the ICC. And based on their decision, the BCCI will respond. 

On players from outside Karnataka playing in KPL:
It depends on how the other State associations will respond. In the next BCCI meeting I will put forward this proposal.