For BCCI interim chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, life comes full circle

Jagmohan Dalmiya, who will serve as interim head of the BCCI while an inquiry is conducted into allegations of spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League, has said that the controversial emergency meeting of the BCCI working committee held in Chennai on Sunday was good for cricket.  

Some members of the board have slammed yesterday's meeting, where N Srinivasan "stepped aside" as board president and Mr Dalmiya was given charge of the day to day affairs of India's cricket board. But the interim president, who is seen as Mr Srinivasan's mentor and has been BCCI chief in the past, said he did not agree that the meeting was a "sham". (Read: who said what)

"As far as I am concerned, this is not a victory for individuals but a victory for the game of cricket," Mr Dalmiya said as he landed in Kolkata back from Chennai. "I don't subscribe to the view that the meeting was a sham...I believe in achieving results and we will be able to accomplish our goals."

Mr Dalmiya has headed the International Cricket Council or ICC in the past. In 2000, he left the ICC following a TV rights row. In 2001, he was appointed as president of the BCCI.

Dalmiya was involved in a major row with match referee Mike Denness, after the Port Elizabeth Test between South Africa and the visitors India in 2001. Denness found six Indian players guilty of various offences during the Test match, including Sachin Tendulkar on a ball tampering charge.

In 2006, Mr Dalmiya was accused by the BCCI of misappropriating funds during the 1996 World Cup. The board dismissed him but he was exonerated by the Supreme Court in 2007, and believes his appointment yesterday is proof of his innocence.

"The most important part of my appointment (as interim BCCI chief) is the proving of my innocence," Mr Dalmiya said adding "I have come out successfully against any charges against me and without any scars."

At the emergency meeting on Sunday, the ex-treasurer and the ex-secretary of the BCCI - Ajay Shirke and Sanjay Jagdale - were asked to return to the board. Both Shirke and Jagdale had resigned following N. Srinivasan's refusal to quit his post as BCCI chief, after his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was arrested on allegations of betting.

Mr Dalmiya said he had requested both to return to the board. "I have already requested them (Shirke and Jagdale) to return to the board and work together with all of us. They both have said they will think about it and get back to us on Monday," he said.