CAN to hold talks

The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) today responded to the national team’s demands by forming a talks committee, following an extended board meeting.

Three days back, national team cricketers had announced a boycott of national and international cricket and appealed to the government to form a new committee of the cricket governing body, saying the current leadership was not capable of developing cricket in Nepal.

The move came inside a month after their impressive display at the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.

भिडिओ हेर्न तल क्लिक गर्नु होस् 

“We call on the national team members to come for talks as that is the only way for a solution,” said CAN General Secretary Ashok Nath Pyakurel in a press conference following the board meeting.

The national team had boycotted the ongoing National Cricket Tournament, called a press conference and made public their dissatisfaction with the working style of CAN, beginning with unpaid salary and allowance for the last nine months.

Pyakurel said salaries and allowances will be paid within a week and other demands will be addressed following talks. “Apart from the salary issue, we will also make amendments in the agreement reached with BS Sports (the official kit sponsors of the national team) and other issues will be addressed following talks with the cricketers,” said Pyakurel.

The talks committee is headed by Vice-president Chatur Bahadur Chand with Thakur Pratap Thapa and Deepak Saud as members.

After the public outburst from players, CAN has formed a disciplinary committee headed by Secretary Uttam Karmacharya and members Thakur Pahari, Diwakar Ghale and Sanjeev Pandey.

भिडिओ हेर्न तल क्लिक गर्नु होस् 

“What the players did was unexpected. It can portray a negative picture of cricket in future as well. We feel that players have breached discipline and the disciplinary committee will handle the issue,” said the general secretary, adding: “We had never promised to distribute the sum of $50,000 among players as claimed by them and there is no additional $50,000 received by CAN.”

Pyakurel also said the players’ fury over CAN’s indifferent attitude towards Prithu Baskota’s treatment was due to communication gap. “We don’t know why the players accused us of being indifferent towards Prithu’s treatment. We have already assured Prithu $5,000 and he is in regular touch with us,” said Pyakurel.

The CAN leadership said it will also help the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) in its investigation so as to prove transparency in the governing body. After the cricketers raised questions about transparency in CAN, CIAA yesterday ope-ned the case and questioned a few officials at its office. “We will help the CIAA in every possible way to ensure smooth investigation. If any misconduct is found in our financial dealings, then it is good for cricket,” added Pyakurel.

Paras wants govt involved

KATHMANDU: After Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) on Saturday formed a talks committee to address cricketers’ demands, national team skipper Paras Khadka said the best way of breaking the deadlock would be through government involvement. “If we sit and talk with the same set of people we have been dealing for almost three years, it will be meaningless. We now want government involvement in talks along with CAN so that the commitments can be implemented within a certain deadline.