BCCI buys time for Srinivasan; calls Working Committee meeting on September 26

In an apparent bid to give its under-fire president N Srinivasan some time, the Board of Control for Cricket in India deferred its much-anticipated Annual General Meeting after an informal gathering of its members units in Chennai, on Sunday.

The unofficial meeting was called to discuss the impasse which surrounds the AGM as a majority of BCCI members wanted it postponed till the Supreme Court-appointed Mukul Mudgal committee submits its final report on the Indian Premier League spot-fixing scandal to the Supreme Court in the first week of November.

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The solution worked out by the members is to convene a Working Committee meeting on September 26. With this, the AGM is unlikely to be held on the scheduled date of September 30 as the rules demand for a three-week gap between the two meetings.

The meeting, which also had Srinivasan in attendance, had representation from 18 units, while three others joined in via teleconference. Among those joining in via teleconference were interim BCCI president Shivlal Yadav, who represents the Hyderabad Cricket Association.

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"After taking all the possible technical and legal opinions, at the moment, there seems to be no other option but to postpone the AGM," BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said after the meeting.

The meeting was a show of strength by Srinivasan, who has been forced to step aside due to the ongoing inquiry into the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal.

"There is no way that the BCCI AGM can be held within September 30. Around 20 members today attended the meet which showed that Srinivasan has overwhelming majority among the 31 members," another BCCI official said.

Meanwhile, continuing his crusade against alleged corruption in the BCCI due to Srinivasan's presence, petitioner in the IPL case, Aditya Verma, threatened to move Supreme Court for the Board's refusal to have an AGM within the September deadline.

If the Mudgal Committee report clears Srinivasan of any wrongdoing, the Tamil Nadu strongman is unlikely to face any opposition during the BCCI election, scheduled to be held during the AGM.

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The opposition faction, led by former BCCI president Shashank Manohar, has support of a mere four units at the moment.

Often described as the most powerful man in cricket, Srinivasan became the BCCI president in 2011 but was ordered to step aside in March by the Supreme Court to ensure a fair investigation into an illegal betting scandal during last year's IPL involving his son-in-law.

Among other decisions taken at the meeting, the fifth ODI of the upcoming home series against the West Indies was moved to Kolkata on October 20. The match was earlier scheduled to be played in Cuttack on October 17. This was prompted by an earlier decision to award the Twenty20 match to Cuttack on October 22.

The West Indies will begin their tour of India with a five-match ODI series beginning in Kochi on October 8, followed by the one-off T20 International match and a three-match Test series from October 30.

The BCCI also decided to conduct the Annual Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi Memorial Lecture in Kolkata this year.

Image: N Srinivasan

Photograph: BCCI