BCCI emergency meeting turns out to be a farce, Srinivasan just 'steps aside', Dalmiya to look after the affair

In what can be described as the lowest point in Indian cricket history, an emergency board meeting of the BCCI dealt a huge blow to the game, says a report in The Times of India.

“The meeting called to decide the fate of BCCI president N Srinivasan, in the wake of the spot-fixing/betting investigations involving his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, confirmed the worst fears of cricket lovers. Indian cricket is run by a clique of arrogant and venal administrators who have little regard for the game or its image, but treat their posts as personal fiefs,” adds the report.

“As things panned out the resignations of two BCCI board members — Sanjay Jagdale and Ajay Shirke — and that of IPL commissioner Rajeev Shukla did little to make Srinivasan read the writing on the wall. Despite his position becoming clearly untenable, Srinivasan refused to resign unconditionally. Following this an interim arrangement was agreed whereby Srinivasan will temporarily step aside until a BCCI probe into his son-in-law's dubious dealings submits its report. In the meantime Jagmohan Dalmiya, a man supported by Srinivasan, will take over the day-to-day affairs of the board, while the latter remains free to pull strings from behind,” says the report.


Riding roughshod over a largely muted and scattered opposition, BCCI president N Srinivasan wrangled an arrangement by which the former president Jagmohan Dalmiya attends to day-to-day affairs of the board while he merely steps aside until a probe into his son-in-law’s betting and fixing shenanigans are complete, says a report in Deccan Chronicle.

“On a symbolically dark day of rain clouds in Chennai on Sunday, cricket administrators managed to tie themselves in such knots at the emergency working committee meeting that a master manipulator in the incumbent could have his way of retaining power while giving away his “chair” temporarily,” says the report, adding that asserting that there are no financial or betting or insider trading charges against him — and facts bear that out — Mr Srinivasan refused to tender his resignation.

“Members, who were quibbling over the semantics of “stepping aside” and “stepping down”, could extract little from a belligerent president except his old offer made in Kolkata on the eve of IPL-6 final to step aside until a three member panel with two retired judges from Madras high court and a third member (meeting has left it to Mr Jaitley to nominate a person) probe Gurunath Meiyappan’s role in IPL-6 as team functionary of city franchise, Chennai Super Kings. Rebellious administrators like Mr Sanjay Jagdale,secretary and Mr Ajay Shirke, treasurer, have been given a day’s time to withdraw their resignations and return to the fold,” added the report.

Meanhile Hindustan Times reports that contrary to popular opinion and perception that he would be forced to resign, Srinivasan held on to his position as the BCCI chief emphatically. “In fact, during a two-hour long meeting, Inderjit Singh Bindra, president of the Punjab Cricket Association and a former BCCI chief, was the only member out of 24 to formally ask for Srinivasan's resignation. The only setback for him was that Sanjay Jagdale and Ajay Shrike declined to take back their resignations as secretary and treasurer of the Board respectively,” says the report.

“Nobody technically asked for Srinivasan's resignation. The members were murmuring and saying in private but officially no one asked for his resignation. I was the only one who asked for it. The members either lacked confidence or were expressionless,” said Bindra, clearly disappointed with the outcome and calling it a 'farce'.

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