Srini to remain ICC chairman till BCCI's Sept AGM: Thakur

Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Anurag Thakur says former president Narayanswami Srinivasan will continue as ICC chairman till September after which the Board will chalk out a way forward at its Annual General Meeting.

As per rules, the ICC chairman's post is held by a BCCI representative for two years from July 2014 to June 2016.

"Mr Srinivasan will be BCCI's representative as ICC chairman till September 2015. In September, we will have our Annual General Meeting as per schedule where there would be discussions about what will be the way forward for us," BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur told PTI.

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The Tamil Nadu strongman was BCCI's unanimous choice for ICC chairman in 2014 but with change of regime his powers have eroded considerably and it is up to the board to decide whether he will be allowed to complete his full term, chances of which look extremely dim at the moment.

With a month-and-a-half into his tenure, Thakur spoke about a host of issues including the decision to appoint a replacement for Duncan Fletcher.

"The discussions are still on. India's next international assignment is in June and we still have some time to go for that. We will be certainly appointing a new coach. We (Thakur and president Dalmiya) are having discussions with a lot of people. It's a decision that needs to be taken after a lot of deliberations keeping the interests of Indian cricket in

mind," the BJP leader said, when asked about Fletcher’s possible successor.

Thakur went on to add that the BCCI "will speak to all stakeholders" before coming to a decision.

"Mr Dalmiya and myself will be speaking to the senior members of the board as well as senior players. We also sought for captain's view regarding the matter. We can assure that the best man available for the job will be appointed," Thakur said.

However, asked about former India captain Sourav Ganguly's chances of getting the coach's job, Thakur presented a dead bat.

"At this point of time, I am not in a position to divulge any names."

Asked about how was the first month-and-a-half in the hot seat, Thakur replied: "It's been good so far. There are challenges but that's what you expect it to be."

For Thakur, one of his biggest aims is the development of women's cricket and arranging more tours for the Indian eves.

"We will be playing the ICC Women's World Cup in 2017. So the next two years will be used for proper preparation of the team. The aim is to organise more foreign tours for the women's team prior to the World Cup," the 40-year-old Member of Parliament from Hamirpur constituency said.

Thakur also said the BCCI is keen to have more exposure tours for the India Under-19 and ‘A’ sides.

"We will shortly chalk up a detailed itinerary for the India ‘A’ team and the Under-19 side. We are planning to have a lot of tours for both the Under-19 side and the ‘A’ team as the focus will be to prepare a good bench strength for the current senior team," said Thakur.

Image: N Srinivasan, in conversation with Wally Edwards of Australia in an ICC meeting.

Photo: Getty Images