Newly appointed interim president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Jagmohan Dalmiya, said secretary Sanjay Jagdale had no intention of withdrawing his resignation letter but hoped treasurer Ajay Shirke would do so.
Speaking to the media 24 hours after taking over the responsibility of running the Board’s affairs for the next few weeks, Mr. Dalmiya said he and Ratnakar Shetty, General Manager (Game Development), spoke to Mr. Shirke and impressed upon him to rejoin. “We have not received any communication from him. We are hopeful of a positive decision from him. We will wait for another 24 hours,” he said.
Asked how long he would wait for Mr. Shirke’s nod, Mr. Dalmiya said, “I am an optimist. Yet, there is a limit for everything.”
He was only a day into the new responsibility and needed time to settle down, Mr. Dalmiya said. How effective he would be in discharging his duties would only be known in course of time. “We are passing through a difficult time. We need to overcome it,” he said. “I do not know my capabilities. But I can assure you that I will leave no stone unturned to reach the bottom of it.”
When queried on the third member of the probe panel in the wake of Mr. Jagdale’s resignation, Mr. Dalmiya said it was a million-dollar question. The other two members of the panel are: Justice (retired) T. Jayaram Chouta and Justice (retd.) R. Balasubramanian.
To a question on who will represent India at the ICC, he said no decision had been taken. “I may or may not. But I am entitled to,” he said. On the probe panel, Mr. Dalmiya said nobody could tell how long it would need to complete its work. “We need to be patient. Let us wait.”
He admitted that after-match parties could have contributed to some of the misdeeds now being probed by the Delhi police. Asked whether he was in favour of banning the Indian Premier League for a year, Mr. Dalmiya said efforts should be made to keep things alive.
