BCCI stays away from controversy

                                      

The BCCI on Thursday sought to steer clear of the International Cricket Council's controversial all-time Player Rankings which has created a furore following Sachin Tendulkar's omission in the list of top 20 Test players.

"How can BCCI react to a ranking prepared by the ICC. It is their ranking, we have nothing to say regarding that", senior BCCI official Rajiv Shukla said.

"All I can say is that the greatest batsman in world cricket Sir Don Bradman had named Sachin Tendulkar in his team. After that, I don't think Tendulkar requires any other rankings", Shukla said.

In the ICC's all-time players rankings released yesterday, Tendulkar was ranked 26th in the Test rankings while another champion batsman Brian Lara was listed three rungs above him.

With the rankings coming under attack from former cricketers and the media, the ICC came out with a clarification, saying the list did not "rank players in terms of true greatness".

In a statement, the ICC said the list did not give a full picture of a player's level of consistency or longevity in the game.

"The ICC player rankings are a great way to compare the performances of players but the all-time list of highest rated players does not by itself rank those players in terms of true greatness", it said.