Johannesburg:
His appointment might not have gone down well with the BCCI, but Proteas cricketers have welcomed former ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat as Cricket South Africa's (CSA) new chief executive officer.
"There has been a lot of undue pressure placed on Cricket South Africa over a prolonged CEO appointment process," said South African Cricketers' Association chief executive Tony Irish.
"The climate of uncertainty has hampered areas of decision making, but cricket remains a solid national sport and we are proud of the way the Proteas and the franchise teams have continued to perform.
"Haroon Lorgat is an experienced cricket administrator who understands the importance of working with players and players associations. I am looking forward to a constructive working relationship with him," he added.
South Africa Test captain Graeme Smith also hailed the CSA's decision to appoint Lorgat as CEO.
"As captain of the Proteas Test team, I'm happy that a decision has finally been made on the appointment of a new CSA CEO," Smith said.
"We have a special culture in the team which has helped us to keep performing during a long period of administrative controversy and uncertainty. Hopefully this uncertainty is behind us now and the team looks forward to working with Haroon," Smith added.
Even though Lorgat was the frontrunner for the job even before he applied late last year, the BCCI's objection was a major hurdle to his appointment.
The BCCI is believed to be at loggerheads with Lorgat from his time at the ICC, where they clashed with him over issues ranging from the FTP and DRS to the corporate governance review.
