BCCI replies to ICC submission

The BCCI sent a reply to arbitrator Justice Albie Sachs rebutting the ICC's contentions on the six-ODI ban slapped on Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly.

The 11-page missive sent on Friday evening contained a ''point by point rebuttal'' of the submission made by the ICC to Sachs, BCCI sources said.

Sachs is the sole member of the Dispute Redressal Committee set up by the ICC after the BCCI disputed the process adopted by appeals commissioner Michael Beloff while rejecting Ganguly's appeal against the ban.

The country's leading legal brains Soli Sorabjee and Siddhartha Shankar Ray along with BCCI's lawyer Usha Nath Banerjee prepared the reply.

As per Sach's directive, BCCI and the ICC had both presented "succinct additional written submissions" concerning the provisions of the Code of Conduct and the process of imposing penalties last week.

The South African judge has ruled out an oral hearing saying submissions presented in black and white were enough to determine the dispute raised by the BCCI.

''The ball is now in Sach's court,'' former BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya said when asked whether the verdict would come before the Indian team's opening fixture in the Sri Lanka tri-series later this month.

''He is a respected judge. We cannot advise him. Its upto him to decide when he will give his ruling,'' he said.

Ganguly was banned by ICC match referee Chris Broad for the team's slow over-rate in a ODI at Vishakhapatnam against Pakistan in April this year.