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Some BCCI members want independent probe

A section of the BCCI's working committee is preparing to ask for an independent probe into the IPL corruption scandal during Sunday's emergent meeting

IS Bindra: "The board members are realising after the Supreme Court's observations that something has to be done."  •  Getty Images

IS Bindra: "The board members are realising after the Supreme Court's observations that something has to be done."  •  Getty Images

A section of the BCCI's working committee is preparing to ask for an independent probe into the IPL corruption scandal during Sunday's emergent meeting, which was convened in the wake of the Supreme Court's observations against the BCCI and its sidelined president N Srinivasan on April 16.
A day after the formal notice of the meeting was circulated to the board, some members of the 24-person working committee started to hold informal discussions among themselves. According to IS Bindra, a former BCCI president and a critic of Srinivasan, the court's blunt statements had forced the board to sit up and take some action.
"Things are brewing and have started moving now. The board members are realising after the Supreme Court's observations that something has to be done," Bindra, the president of the Punjab Cricket Association, said. "The members should press for an independent panel to probe the matter."
Vidarbha Cricket Association president Prakash Dixit said he expected an independent probe to be the only solution to save face: "After what happened in the last year, a completely independent probe needs to be pressed for."
Some BCCI officials made an effort to reach out to Bindra, former VCA and BCCI president Shashank Manohar, and former BCCI and ICC president Sharad Pawar, who now heads the Mumbai Cricket Association, to attend the meeting and create a pressure group against the ruling south zone lobby. However, none of them will attend Sunday's meeting. The PCA will be represented by the secretary MP Pandove, Dixit and joint secretary Dr PV Shetty will represent the VCA and MCA, respectively.
Despite several state associations writing to acting BCCI president Shivlal Yadav requesting an emergent working committee meeting before the next court hearing, Yadav said the decision to call the meeting had been his own.
"My feelings were echoed by a few BCCI members. Even if the members hadn't written to me, I would have definitely convened a working committee meeting for discussing the future course of action," Yadav said. "The sole agenda for the meeting is to take a stock of the developments in the Supreme Court and decide on the necessary measures to be taken in future."
Meanwhile, Aditya Verma, the secretary of Cricket Association of Bihar, demanded Manohar to be appointed the chief of the probe panel. "Only Mr Manohar can clean the image of BCCI and IPL," Verma said in a statement, saying CAB will oppose any other probe panel that is not headed by Manohar.
"Till the probe is concluded, CAB demands a good governance review committee for the BCCI," Verma said. "Several former office-bearers of BCCI, like Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, Mr AC Muthaiah, Mr IS Bindra, Chirayu Amin, Ajay Shirke, Sanjay Jagdale and Niranjan Shah are very much capable of improving the administrative function of BCCI."

Amol Karhadkar is a correspondent at ESPNcricinfo Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo