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N. Srinivasan finds himself in a peculiar situation on the eve of the much-waited and controversial annual general meeting of the BCCI on Sunday : as, according to a Supreme Court interim order passed on Friday, he can have his cake, but can’t eat it just yet. In cricketing parlance, Justices A.K. Patnaik and J.S. Khehar comprising the two-member bench of the SC have bowled Srinivasan a doosra while hearing a petition field by the Cricket Association of Bihar challenging his bid to get an extension as BCCI president. While the judges have neither denied him access to the AGM nor debarred him from seeking extension, they have also said that Srinivasan cannot assume charge as president till the petition is disposed of in its entirety. The two-member bench could deliver a final order on the petition on Monday iself or later, which means Srinivasan’s future, even if he becomes BCCI president on Sunday, is still riddled with suspense at least for 24 hours. In case it takes the SC longer to decide, it could stymie a lot of important decisions that have been pending, depending on what course the cricket administration would take after the AGM. Among priority issues is finding a chairman for the IPL and fixing the dates for the league which, as in 2009, is likely to coincide with the general elections. Apart from everybody else, Jagmohan Dalmiya, who has been president-in-charge every since Srinivasan had decided to step aside from the responsibility, will be watching the developments with great interest. Will his ambitions get a second wind Srinivasan, who was sucked deeper into the vortex of the IPL cheating scam after the Mumbai police chargesheeted his son-in-law Mieyyapan Gurunath last week has been unfazed in his decision to get an extension, stating that the law will decide on his future and he should not be held culpable for the misdeeds of others, even if from within his family. In the wider context of however, the issue goes beyond just this case, the ambitions and rivalries of people within the BCCI. It has to do with Indian cricket, its reputation and future. In the past few years, Indian cricket has been sullied with scandal and controversy apart, of course, from several battles with other cricket boards. The BCCI has not always been at fault in matters involving the latter, but read in conjunction with charges of corruption in the IPL, it has eroded the credibility of the Board immeasurably. Police and courts involving some players and high-ranking officials of the BCCI is terrible advertisement for the Board. Being the richest cricketing body in the world demands puritanical leadership for the sport, not shenanigans and scams. Whatever the outcome of Sunday’s AGM and the Supreme Court order, this should be the avowed focus of the people who aspire to run Indian cricket.
