The payment dispute between Sunil Gavaskar and the Board of Control for Cricket in India took an ugly turn on Tuesday, with the former India captain hitting out at the cricket Board for not paying him for his role in the Indian Premier League Governing Council, a claim promptly refuted by the establishment.
Gavaskar, who was controversially omitted from the IPL's Governing Council in September, claimed he was not paid for the last three years. However, BCCI secretary N Srinivasan rubbished it, saying it is not factually correct.
The BCCI did not give any reason for Gavaskar's ouster from the IPL Governing Council during its Annual General Meeting in September, but there were reports that it could be the result of the payment dispute.
The legendary batsman on Tuesday created a flutter by stating that he had not been paid for the last three years which forced him to send a "gentle reminder about the non-payment" to the BCCI.
"I am yet to be paid by the BCCI for my role on the IPL Governing Council. I have not been paid at all by the BCCI, since I took on the offer. All I have been doing is that sending a gentle reminder about the non-payment. I am just reminding them of what was offered to me and what was omitted to me by the BCCI," Gavaskar said.
"I have just been told that Mr Sharad Pawar (ICC president) will organise a meeting between Shashank Manohar (BCCI chief) and me in his presence to sort out the matter and that for me is good enough," he said.
Gavaskar, however, refused to divulge what the pay packet was, saying, "Never ask a woman her age and never ask a man what he gets."
Srinivasan, however, gave a different version, insisting that the Gavaskar was paid as per the contract.
"There is no dispute in this regard. He has been paid," he said.
Asked whether there is miscommunication between Gavaskar and the BCCI on the payment issue, Srinivasan replied: "There is no misunderstanding. I am just stating the fact. You asked me whether Gavaskar has not been paid. I said he has been paid. I have a lot of admiration for him as a cricketer," he pointed out.
On whether Gavaskar had asked for Rs 20 crore for his five-year term in the IPL Governing Council, Srinivasan said: "He had sent a mail to the BCCI president mentioning that amount. It was placed in the AGM but since there was no prior agreement or any understanding, it was not paid. The BCCI had not made any commitment.
"There was no contract. We had a contract with him for Rs one crore plus taxes and have paid him that. That's all."
Gavaskar also denied that he has any links with the beleaguered Kochi IPL team and said he has still not made up his mind whether to accept the franchise's offer to head it's cricket operations.
"They only came to me for advice," he said. "I will wait for Kochi's internal problems to be resolved before deciding to take up the offer. Apart from Kochi, I have also been approached by another franchise to head cricket operations," the former opener added.
