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'BCCI lacks leaders to take on Srinivasan' - Manohar

Two former BCCI presidents, Shashank Manohar and Jagmohan Dalmiya, have reacted strongly to the news of the BCCI calling an emergent meeting on Sunday

Nagraj Gollapudi
18-Apr-2014
Jagmohan Dalmiya: 'It is of paramount importance to ensure that the BCCI's image is restored in the eyes of the cricket loving public'  •  Associated Press

Jagmohan Dalmiya: 'It is of paramount importance to ensure that the BCCI's image is restored in the eyes of the cricket loving public'  •  Associated Press

Two former BCCI presidents, Shashank Manohar and Jagmohan Dalmiya, have reacted strongly to the news of the BCCI calling an emergent meeting on Sunday. While Manohar said the meeting would have no effect on N Srinivasan's position in the board, Dalmiya welcomed the meeting even while saying he felt it was a delayed move.
"The board lacks leaders to take on Srinivasan who is shamelessly and stubbornly sticking to his chair," Manohar told PTI. "Nothing has moved in the last one year. The outbreak of the [IPL corruption] scandal happened in May 2013 and we are currently in April 2014."
Dalmiya, who is currently the head of the Cricket Association of Bengal, which is a member of the working committee, said that the Supreme Court's scathing appraisal of the BCCI and, in particular, its deposed president Srinivasan in the past week has hurt the image of the board. "Whatever is coming out of [the courts] in the last three-four days, the image of the BCCI is in jeopardy. That is what we need to talk about," Dalmiya told ESPNcricinfo.
In the last month, the BCCI has been pushed into a corner by a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court, which has now asked for the board to come back to it with the corrective measures it would take to ensure a free and fair probe into the IPL corruption scandal. On Tuesday, the court also struck down Srinivasan's pleas to be reinstated as president - he had stepped aside in March, after the court had recommended he do so. Also, the court revealed that he was named as one of 13 people allegedly involved in sporting fraud in the sealed envelope submitted by the court-appointed Mudgal inquiry panel, which had been set up last year to investigate the corruption scandal.
The courtroom drama had left Dalmiya and some other working committee members quietly disgruntled and puzzled as to why the BCCI had not called for a meeting earlier to discuss the developments. "I am happy that better sense has prevailed and an emergent meeting of the working committee has been convened by the BCCI," Dalmiya said. "In fact, there are some issues of serious nature that need to be discussed at the earliest.
"After all, it cannot be denied that the image of the BCCI has taken a beating of late. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to ensure that the BCCI's image is restored in the eyes of the cricket loving public of India."
Dalmiya did not want to speculate about any extraordinary decision being possibly discussed or taken by the working committee. "There cannot be anything decided [yet]. We feel the time has come when the discussions should take place, when the correct measures should be taken. And therefore unless we meet it is very difficult to formulate what decisions need to be taken," Dalmiya said. He did not want to elaborate on what any of the measures could be. "It is very difficult to single out [one issue]," Dalmiya said.
Asked if the working committee could force Srinivasan to quit his position, Dalmiya said: "All depends on how the situation develops."

Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo