A file photo of N. Srinivasan. Photo: Mint
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) led by president Jagmohan Dalmiya and secretary Anurag Thakur seems keen to oust its former president N. Srinivasan as the board’s representative in the International Cricket Council (ICC). The move could end Srinivasan’s tenure as ICC chairman, a post he has held since June 2014.
The top leadership of the BCCI, including Dalmiya and Thakur, are “exploring the option of an early Special General Meeting (SGM) in its bid to oust Srinivasan”, a Press Trust of India report said on Tuesday.
The BCCI’s rules mandate that to decide on ousting its representative in the ICC (Srinivasan), an SGM needs to be called, for which members need to be given three weeks’ notice.
Additionally, the group that calls the SGM must have two-third majority (in the BCCI’s case, 21 members) to pass the motion. Reports also suggest that the SGM will be called on 24 May, incidentally, the day when the Indian Premier League (IPL) final will be played in Kolkata.
Earlier this month, Thakur had expressed the possibility of the BCCI reconsidering its representative to the ICC after its annual general meeting in September 2015. “As per resolution in the AGM, Mr. Srinivasan will be BCCI’s representative at the ICC till September 2015. In September, we will have our AGM as per schedule, where there would be discussions about what will be the way forward,” he said in an interview to PTI.
After the AGM, former ICC president Sharad Pawar said in an interview, “Srinivasan has been allowed to continue representing the BCCI at the ICC because we felt that we shouldn’t tarnish the image of the BCCI and Indian cricket at the world stage.”
Srinivasan’s tenure as ICC chairman ends in June 2016.
That said, purges on the last day of the IPL isn’t unfamiliar territory to the BCCI. In 2010, the BCCI, then led by Shashank Manohar, suspended former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi after events following his tweet disclosing the ownership details of now defunct IPL franchise, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, which involved former UPA minister and Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor as its ‘mentor’.
Sundar Raman not to attend ICC meets
In a related development, the BCCI is also reconsidering allowing Sundar Raman, the IPL chief operating officer (COO) to attend ICC meetings. According to a report in the Hindustan Times on Wednesday, the decision to not allow Raman to attend ICC meetings was taken on the sidelines of Sunday’s working committee meeting of the BCCI.
Raman, considered to be a close confidante of Srinivasan, has been attending ICC meetings since 2011, where he has been credited for furthering India’s position on the controversial decision-review system (DRS) and drafting the ‘Big Three’ proposal.
The report also quoted Dalmiya as saying, “We have discussed about his (Raman’s) ICC representation but haven’t decided anything yet. But you will get to know if he is going for the next ICC meeting or not.”
However, the BCCI will await the conclusion of the IPL before any decision on Raman is finalised.
Srinivasan aide suspended
Former BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel was suspended by the Baroda Cricket Association on Tuesday on “allegations of financial irregularities.” Patel is considered one of Srinivasan’s closest aides, and served as secretary of the board under his presidency.
According to a PTI report on Tuesday, Patel “was removed from his primary membership...” The report quoted former test opener and joint secretary of the BCA Anshuman Gaikwad as saying, “Sanjay Patel’s primary membership has been cancelled for financial irregularities. There was a sanction of Rs.25 lakh for renovation of dressing room and BCA office. However, the bills ran up to Rs.89 lakh. No approval was sought for spending such amount.”
Patel on his part is set to take legal recourse to revoke the decision of the BCA’s managing committee.
Simmering, ugly feud
The feud within the BCCI has been simmering since the cricket body held its annual general meeting in March, when Dalmiya and Thakur were elected to their respective posts. Ahead of Sunday’s working committee meeting, the ICC chairman, through its chief executive Dave Richardson, sent a letter to Dalmiya about Thakur’s association with Kiran Gilhotra, a man whose name allegedly figured in the ICC’s “unverified supected bookies” list. The ICC also issued an advisory to Thakur to “stay away from suspected bookies”.
The BCCI shot back with revelations about how Srinivasan used the Board’s money (Rs.14 crore) to hire a London-based agency to spy on other members within the cricket body.
A day later, Thakur, while defending his association with Gilhotra, launched an all-out attack on Srinivasan through a stinging open letter. Questioning the timing of the move, Thakur wrote that the complaint against him was “procured” and “intended to be a counter-offensive on your behalf, since you have not reconciled with my election as Secretary, BCCI.” Thakur also took a swipe at Srinivasan’s family members (most notably, his son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan) “whose involvement in betting has been proved”.
