South Africa off-spinner Simon Harmer has taken aim at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), arguing that India\u2019s cricket board can effectively shape decisions within the International Cricket Council (ICC) because of its commercial clout and administrative influence. The 37-year-old, who played a decisive role in South Africa\u2019s Test success against India last year, suggested that players have limited leverage in such power dynamics and that the public story can only shift through consistent trophy-winning performances.<\/p>\n
Harmer\u2019s comments were delivered as part of a wider discussion about how influence operates at cricket\u2019s global level. He pointed out that the narrative is largely controlled by those with the largest financial and organisational weight, saying the BCCI holds significant sway over the ICC. In his view, individuals at the playing level can focus only on what they can control\u2014while the larger perception changes only when teams deliver silverware.<\/p>\n
It was also highlighted that the Temba Bavuma-led unit ended their run in the previous World Test Championship (WTC) as champions, beating Pat Cummins\u2019 Australia in the final at Lord\u2019s. South Africa\u2019s recent global tournament record has remained strong across formats: they reached the last game of the 2024 T20 World Cup, made it to the semi-finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup, and also secured spots in the later-stage events of the 2025 Champions Trophy and the 2026 T20 World Cup.<\/p>\n
On the question of why such systemic influence is hard to challenge, Harmer said that commercial power gives an organisation the upper hand, and that ultimately the BCCI is able to influence the ICC. He added that players can\u2019t change those structures directly, and that the only realistic way to alter the conversation is by winning more trophies.<\/p>\n
Harmer also looked back on his own impact during South Africa\u2019s two-match Test series versus India. He returned with 17 wickets across four innings, maintaining an average of 8.94, underlining his importance to the Proteas\u2019 bowling effort. Beyond his performances, the spinner praised South Africa\u2019s current coaching set-up\u2014specifically head coach Shukri Conrad\u2014and the leadership of captain Temba Bavuma.<\/p>\n
Speaking about the current squad, Harmer said the team\u2019s identity goes beyond individual brilliance, noting that while there are only a few standout stars, the collective unit functions as something greater than the sum of its parts.<\/p>\n
Harmer\u2019s remarks about Conrad were equally direct. He explained that if the coach believes a player is not good enough, he will say so clearly, and Harmer said he respects that approach\u2014adding that he has not always been in the position of receiving that kind of feedback.<\/p>\n
South Africa off-spinner Simon Harmer has taken aim at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), arguing that India\u2019s cricket board can effectively…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7678,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Simon Harmer on BCCI vs ICC: IPL Cricket News","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Simon Harmer says BCCI\u2019s clout can sway ICC decisions, criticising \u201cnarratives\u201d and claiming players have little leverage in cricket\u2019s power game.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n