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Busier times await Srinivasan

S. Dinakar

He will be the hub

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IN THE HOT SEAT: N. Srinivasan, the new BCCI Secretary. —

Chennai: N. Srinivasan’s tenure as the Treasurer of the BCCI was an eventful one. He will now, as the Board Secretary, continue to be in the thick of things. In fact, even busier times await Mr. Srinivasan.

“It is an important and an extremely responsible role,” he said. Speaking to The Hindu here on Tuesday, Mr. Srinivasan shared his views on a variety of subjects.

He shed light on his chemistry with the new BCCI President, Shashank Manohar. Both have a reputation of being strong, tough-talking personalities.

“I don’t know about reputations. Both of us are fair and straight. The equation between us is excellent. I have a lot of respect for Shashank,” he said.

Team selection

As the Secretary, Mr. Srinivasan will also be the convenor of the selection meetings. On Wednesday morning, he will fly to Mumbai, where the Indian squad for the first two Tests against Australia will be picked. There have been plenty of debate and speculation on the future of some of the senior cricketers.

Mr. Srinivasan said, “Each selection panel follows a certain approach. I personally believe that the yardstick for selection is not age alone. Form, fitness, skill, all these factors come into the picture.”

The nature of pitches in the country has often come under scrutiny. “Every side wants to play to its strength. We have seen in the past that if the surface favours the visiting side, then there have been a lot more complaints. We would have to balance all the factors here,” said Mr. Srinivasan.

He was aware of the security concerns in the times we live in and said, “We have a good security system in place. Naturally, security has to be given priority.”

Does he agree with the view in some quarters that the cash-rich BCCI is bullying the ICC? Mr. Srinivasan’s response was quick. “No. I agree that the BCCI is strong, not the other part,” he said.

Improvements

Mr. Srinivasan spoke about improvements in the infrastructure over the past three years. “The infrastructure subsidies to the State Associations have been increased.

“If you spend Rs. 100 crore, you get as much as Rs. 50 crore as subsidy from the Board. A lot of work has been done at Chepauk. New stadiums with modern facilities have come up in Hyderabad and Nagpur. The emphasis will be on the paying public and the players.”

He added, “It gave me a lot of satisfaction that 26 per cent of the income was distributed to the players. As much as half of it went to the domestic cricketers.”

As the Board Secretary, Mr. Srinivasan will be the hub.

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