N. Srinivasan’s reign as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India is most likely to end on Sunday at an >emergent Working Committee meeting in Chennai. Having defied demands from within the Board -- and pressure from outside -- to leave his post following the spot-fixing scandal, which also involves his son-in-law >Gurunath Meiyappan , Mr. Srinivasan is understood to have relented.
Although the Working Committee cannot force a president to resign -- according to the BCCI constitution, a 75 per cent majority at a general meeting is required for impeachment -- a deal appears to have been struck.
But Mr. Srinivasan has reportedly put up a few conditions. After prolonged discussions with other important officials of the Board at the behest of joint secretary Anurag Thakur, the owner of Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League has objected to the name of the former president, Shashank Manohar, as his interim replacement.
Mr. Manohar’s name has been included in case Mr. Arun Jaitley, a vice-president, is reluctant to take up the job at this difficult juncture. Shivlal Yadav, vice-president representing South Zone, is also in the fray.
Mr. Srinivasan has been driven into a corner following Mr. Meiyappan’s alleged involvement with bookies. Resignations on Friday by Board secretary >Sanjay Jagdale and treasurer Ajay Shirke had triggered a storm. On Saturday, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla too stepped down on expected lines.
Mr. Srinivasan has demanded that he be appointed India’s representative for the International Cricket Council (ICC) meetings. “We will have no objection to this demand since he has contributed towards India’s rise as a cricket force. He has considerable experience to deal with ICC and we would be in a strong position if Mr. Srinivasan represents the BCCI at ICC meetings,” said a Board official actively involved in the negotiations.
A senior Board member confirmed there is no rule that prevented Mr. Manohar from being appointed as interim president.
Mr. Srinivasan also seems to have sought an assurance that he must get his position back should the probe go in his favour. This apart, he does not want Mr. Jagdale and Mr. Shirke in the new panel, a demand that will not find support from most quarters. Mr. Jagdale, in any case, has affirmed his decision to stay way from the Board. “My innings is over,” he said from Indore.
The Board official who spoke to The Hindu did not anticipate much acrimony at the Sunday meeting. “Most decisions have been agreed upon. Mr. Srinivasan needs to be convinced to accept Mr. Manohar in case Mr. Jaitley has reservations about taking over as the president. We should be able to convince him,” he said.
If Mr. Srinivasan steps down, he would the first Board president to do so.
