N Srinivasan to represent Tamil Nadu in BCCI meeting on Friday
The Board's interim president Jagmohan Dalmiya will chair the meeting that is expected to deliberate on the Bombay High Court order that has questioned the validity of the two-member panel that probed alleged IPL betting and spot-fixing issues.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: August 01, 2013 08:32 PM IST
N. Srinivasan will attend Friday's Board of Control for Cricket in India working committee meeting in New Delhi as the president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. The Board's interim president Jagmohan Dalmiya will chair the meeting that is expected to deliberate on the Bombay High Court order that has questioned the validity of the two-member panel that probed alleged IPL betting and spot-fixing issues. (Watch: If probe illegal, should Srinivasan return?)
According to BCCI sources, Srinivasan, who was given a clean chit by the probe panel, is free to attend the working committee meeting. "He is free to resume his duties as BCCI president, but just to be safe, he will represent Tamil Nadu. In any case, Dalmiya is an interim arrangement and most affiliates are siding with Srinivasan," said a senior BCCI vice-president, who didn't want to be named. The High Court order doesn't forbid Srinivasan from attending BCCI meetings.
There are murmurs of discontent among the rank and file of the BCCI after the High Court order came as a shock on Tuesday. "It came after the Kolkata meeting on Sunday and we had no clue it was coming," admitted the BCCI official. He added that Srinivasan, according to plans, was all set to take over, but the court's observation has acted like a damper. (Also read: "Srinivasan's men offered me out-of-court settlement")
Srinivasan is expected to call the shots in Friday's meeting. "He still has the numbers and the power to influence decision making. But, yes the court order will be taken up on priority. It's a constitutional flaw and has to be addressed immediately. If necessary, the BCCI will form a new panel and probe the issues. If required, the BCCI may appeal to a higher court, even the Supreme Court," the senior VP said.
"Srinivasan is not one to take things lying down. He agreed to stay away till the probe panel made a decision. Now that he has got a clean chit, Srinivasan is very confident of his position. Constitutional issues will be dealt with. The flaw lies in the who's who in the panel (a member of the IPL Governing Council was mandatory), not in its findings," the BCCI official said.
On Wednesday, after he was given another term as president of Cricket Association of Bengal, Dalmiya had said he wasn't sure about his position in Friday's meeting. After a small section of the media reported that Srinivasan had resumed his duties as BCCI president, 73-year-old Dalmiya was left a confused man. Now the air is lot clearer.