Lodha Panel never asked banks to freeze BCCI accounts
- The BCCI earlier threatened to call off ongoing home series against Kiwis.
- Lodha said it never asked the banks to freeze BCCI accounts.
- The third Test between India and New Zealand is set to start from October 8.
- The Test series will be followed by 5 ODIs.
FollowEarlier in the Tuesday morning, the BCCI threatened to call off the ongoing home series against New Zealand saying they cannot run a series with their accounts having blocked by the Lodha committee.
India have won the two Tests of the three-Test series, and the third match is due to start on October 8 at Indore. After the Tests, five One-Day Internationals (ODIs) are scheduled to be played.
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"My mails to the BCCI and the banks are very clear, there is no scope for misinterpretation. If that (misinterpretation) has happened, this is sad. The Committee is perfectly within its rights to take a call on some of the expenses planned by the board because we have been mandated by the Supreme Court. But the game must go on, the show must go on. But if someone starts misreading my mails, it would be very sad,” Lodha told FirstSports.
A senior BCCI official spoke to the media Tuesday morning breaking the news about the cricket body cancelling the New Zealand series.
"We have no option other than to call off the India-New Zealand series as our banks have decided to freeze BCCI accounts. We don’t want India to be humiliated in front of the world. How can we function, how can we hold any games now? Who will make the payment? Freezing a bank account is no joke. An international team is here, and there is so much at stake,” the official told the Indian Express.
However, just after the news regarding the cancellation of the tour was leaked, RM Justice Lodha then spoke to NDTV clearing that there has been no constraint on funds for BCCI's routine expense. "Day to day affairs, routine expenditure, matches, games, that should go on. There is absolutely no prohibition," Justice Lodha added.
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Meanwhile, The New Zealand Cricket Board has not heard from the BCCI regarding the cancellation of the series mid-way. "It's the first time we've heard of it. At the moment we are preparing to play the third test at Indore as scheduled," a New Zealand spokesperson said.
