India's captain Virat Kohli (C) celebrates with teammates after victory on the fourth day of the second Test match between India and New Zealand at The Eden Gardens Cricket Stadium in Kolkata on October 3, 2016. DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images
The cricket world has been rocked by claims from an Indian newspaper that the ongoing tour by New Zealand has been cancelled by the Indian cricket board due to financial problems.
The Indian Express newspaper quoted an unnamed official from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as saying the board’s bank accounts had been frozen after a recommendation by the Lodha Committee, a court-appointed panel set up to look into its operations.
“We have no option other than to call off the India-New Zealand series as our banks have decided to freeze BCCI accounts,” the paper quoted the BCCI official as saying. “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.”
India sealed the three-match test series 2-0 on Monday with a 178-run victory in Kolkata.