[This article originally appeared on the now defunct website Cricketwoman. - RE]
The merger of the Women's Cricket Association of India (WCAI) with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been put on hold, at least for the time being. The board, which broached the matter at last BCCI executive committee meeting in Thiruvanthapuram, amidst rumours that the merger exercise could be carried out during the two-day meeting, has decided to seek details on the modus operandi of how the other nations like Australia, New Zealand and England amalgamated their respective bodies before taking any decision.
"We did have a threadbare discussion on the merger issue at our last working committee meeting. But a single meeting is not enough to come to any conclusion" BCCI secretary SK Nair said.
"We intend to talk to international cricket bodies to find out the procedures followed in the merger of the men’s body with women's body.," Nair said.
The BCCI made it clear that the Board was not under pressure to expedite the merger process.
"There is no pressure on us. The Board has its own set rules of going about things and we're not going to deviate from that," he remarked.
He asserted that the Board should be in a position to taking a decision on the issue by August.
"We'd have to take this process forward at our next executive committee meeting. Hopefully by August, we'd be close to taking a decision," he added.