India commit to tour

8 January 2008

Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds are at the centre of the controversy © Getty Images

India’s tour of Australia will go ahead, although the Indian cricket authorities have warned they could still order their team home.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced on Monday that they would suspend the tour pending the appeal of Harbhajan Singh’s ban for his alleged racist abuse towards Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds.

On Tuesday, the International Cricket Council announced Steve Bucknor would be withdrawn from the third Test and charged Australia spinner Brad Hogg with using abusive language.

The BCCI released a statement which read: “The (working committee) of the BCCI took note of all relevant circumstances and developments and decided that the Indian team tour to Australia should continue for the present."

The statement, read to the press by BCCI treasurer N Srinivasan, went on to warn that the team could still return to India if Harbhajan is not exonerated.

It continued: “The ICC has clarified to the board that Harbhajan could play until the final disposal of the appeal.

“This is only an interim arrangement. The BCCI is of the categorical view that the matter will have to be finally resolved and the unfair allegation against an Indian player be set aside or withdrawn.”

The statement called the ban “totally uncalled for and unjustified and patently illegal”, and also confirmed that the BCCI will “review the tour and all other developments continuously”.

It continued: “The working committee reiterated that the ban imposed on Harbhajan is totally unacceptable.

“It further authorised the president (Sharad Pawar) to take all possible steps at his command and deploy all human and material resources available to get the player cleared of the obnoxious and baseless accusation.”

The BCCI’s move comes after the ICC took a number of steps to diffuse the tension in an increasingly controversial series and help prevent a potentially damaging boycott.