ICC to release funds for CAN

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is set to release Nepal the funds it had freezed for the last 10 months following the progress made by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) in the recruitment of a Chief Executive Officer and Finance Manager.

The global cricket governing body had refrained from releasing Nepal the funds showing concern over CAN’s failure in appointing paid-administrators. CAN had also received a formal warning last month in the ICC’s Annual Conference in Melbourne for not being able to hire the paid-administrators. ICC had also given a one-year deadline to either hire a administrator or face sanctions. According to a source close to the CAN who spoke in conditions of anonymity, ICC Global Development Manager Tim Anderson has informed CAN that it will ‘shortly’ release the funds. “We have received a mail from the ICC Development Manager Anderson who informed us that ICC is pretty happy with the progress that has been made in hiring a professional CEO and Finance Manager,” the source said.

An ICC delegation early this year had directed the country’s cricket governing body to take professional approach to run cricket in Nepal by hiring paid administrator. CAN announced vacancies for the two posts but after a majority of CAN’s top brass were charge-sheeted in alleged corruption, the process took too long to finalise. CAN has currently short listed five candidates out of 27 applicants for the post of CEO and six out of 59 have been picked up for finance manager. “ICC is happy with CAN’s progress in hiring the two officials as directed. We will probably finalise the recruitment process by the end of August,” said the source. “The shortlisted candidates would be interviewed in the presence of ICC representatives who are visiting Nepal in mid-August.”

The report is a huge relief to CAN who is running with empty bank accounts of late. A bankrupt CAN was unable to hand coach Pubudu Dassanayake an extension only to see government intervene and offer the Sri Lankan-born Canadian a one-year contract entension early this month. CAN also hand-picked players for Asian Games and ACC U-16 Elite without holding selection tournaments due to budget crunch.

However, CAN’s survival itself is hanging by a thread as the government is preparing to transform it into a board passing a new bill through the parliament. Youth and Sports Minister Purushottam Paudel on Tuesday said the government will establish a new law for cricket before passing it from the parliament to ensure the new body faces no legal complications.