Ex-Pakistan cricketers welcome Sunil Gavaskar's appointment as BCCI chief

KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain and coach, Waqar Younis has welcomed the appointment of batting legend Sunil Gavaskar as the BCCI interim chairman for IPL affairs and said this appeared to be the first step towards cricketers playing a more prominent role in administration.
"It is good news because I have always believed that cricketers should look after the game the world over because they understand the sport better," Waqar said on PTV sports.

The former fast bowling great said that he was sure that Gavaskar would bring about a welcome change in the IPL which had become shrouded in controversy since the spot fixing scandal broke out.

"I have a lot of respect for Gavaskar because of his strong cricketing background and I believe he is the right choice for the job. It is a good start and I would like to see more cricketers coming forward to look after the sport and take part in administration," Waqar added.

He felt that Gavaskar's willingness to take up this key post will encourage other generation of cricketers and give them confidence that they can also look after the game.

"I am just happy to see cricketers now taking responsibility of administration," he added.

Other former Pakistani players also welcomed the appointment of Gavaskar in the key BCCI post and hope that he would play a big role in cleaning up the image of the IPL and Indian cricket.

"The IPL has become a source of scandals for Indian and world cricket and someone like Gavaskar was needed to set things right. He is a mature and experienced person and understands cricket," former test batsman, Mohsin Khan who has remained chief selector and head coach, said.

Former test player, Basit Ali hoped that Gavaskar would take steps to undo the injustice done to Pakistani cricketers by keeping them out of the IPL.

"Sunny bhai is respected and known for his cricket acumen. The Supreme Court has made a wise choice and it was needed that Srinivasan move aside from BCCI and IPL affairs now with the serious allegations against him," Basit added.