Kolkata: The high-voltage dram enacted by former BCCI chief N. Srinivan forced the cricket body to adjourn its all-important Working Committee meeting on Friday. Srinivasan was adamant on participation in the meeting as President of Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA).
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was to held its Working Committee meeting. However, the presence of former chief N. Srinivasan created a lot of confusion among its members. The adjournment means several important decisions, including a clear cut Indian Premier League (IPL) roadmap now hangs in the balance. No fresh date has been decided as this was supposed to be the last working committee meeting before next month’s Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Following deliberations with senior BCCI members and legal head Ushanath Bannerjee, president Jagmohan Dalmiya told reporters that the meeting was being adjourned due to “lack of legal clarity” on Srinivasan’s participation. Friday’s meeting was crucial because it was supposed to decide the fate of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals in IPL.
Srinivasan’s presence somewhat divided the Board. While Dalmiya was opposing the former Board president’s presence, certain factions – including Indian Premier League chairman Rajeev Shukla – felt that the TNCA president’s participation should not be stalled. Srinivasan was also armed with legal documents. It may be pertinent to mention that Chennai have taken BCCI to court over its two-year suspension from the IPL.
Two former presidents, Sharad Pawar and Shashank Manohar, were also against Srinivasan’s participation. Earlier this week, Cricket Association of Bihar, whose petition in 2014 had triggered the IPL scandal case in the Supreme Court, also opposed Srinivasan’s participation in the working committee meeting. It may be recalled that the Supreme Court had stood down Srinivasan from BCCI activities due to his conflict of interest as he had commercial dealings as the owner of Chennai Super Kings through India Cements.
The only positive outcome of Friday’s meeting has been that the date for the BCCI AGM has been fixed for September 27. It will be another round of ‘war’ among officials as Srinivasan will be keen to extract his pound of flesh while the current BCCI management may knock him off as the chairman of International Cricket Council.
