‘The BCCI members stood behind me like a rock’

ICC chairman N. Srinivasan, BCCI interim president Shivlal Yadav and vice-president Ravi Sawant at the TNCA felicitation function on Wednesday. Photo: K. Pichumani

The International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman N. Srinivasan hailed the support extended to him by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) during a tumultuous phase, here on Wednesday.

“What has touched me is that when all kinds of missiles were flying, the BCCI members stood behind me like a rock. There have been people who couldn’t come through the ballot box and they created difficulty. But, the BCCI members have seen through it.

“We all recognise that the closer we are, the BCCI will be seen on the world stage as a solid phalanx,” said Srinivasan at a function organised by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) to felicitate him on becoming the ICC chairman.

A visibly-overwhelmed Srinivasan also referred to a remark made earlier in the evening by N. Shivlal Yadav, the interim president of the BCCI, as a sign of affection. Yadav had said: “I hope N. Srinivasan’s bad period is over. I also hope he will take over from me soon [as the BCCI president].”

Wrong perception

Srinivasan also spoke about the “not-so-complimentary” perception about the BCCI. “You find things being written about ‘India exerting influence.’ But people forget that in the first 60 to 70 years, two or three countries had veto. I am not saying we should go back to it, but the BCCI has not been aggressive in its approach. Whatever success it has achieved is by convincing people.”

Reminiscing about his beginnings as a TNCA administrator, the 69-year-old acknowledged the role of associations in the districts in his rise.

“There was a time when no one wanted to stand for the post of vice-president. I contested but I had no idea of how the voting system worked, and I eventually lost by two votes. My entry back into the TNCA was because of support from the districts.”

BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary recounted a conversation with Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Nishantha Ranatanga about Srinivasan. “[BCCI secretary] Sanjay Patel, Nishantha, and I were discussing something about the ICC. Nishanta said, ‘If I were the BCCI, I would never let Srinivasan walk away. If I was any other nation, I wouldn’t want him in the BCCI.’ That sums up the man.” BCCI vice-president Ravi Sawant spoke as well.

There were representatives from several State associations who were present at the function. TNCA district secretaries and member club secretaries also turned up to offer their felicitations.