N. Srinivasan files nomination for BCCI president's post; three new faces as Arun Jaitley, Niranjan Shah exit as vice-presidents

N.Srinivasan, who is seeking to extend his run as Board of Control for Cricket in India president for a year at Sunday's Annual General Meeting in Chennai, has chosen his 'team' to run the Board's affairs for the next 12 months. According to the panel submitted by Srinivasan, whose two-year regular tenure comes to an end this month, Arun Jaitley, Niranjan Shah and Sudhir Dabir have been replaced as vice-presidents.

Ravi Savant of Mumbai, who was the stop-gap treasurer after Ajay Shirke resigned in the wake of the Indian Premier League corruption scandal, S.K. Bansal of Delhi and Rajeev Shukla of Uttar Pradesh are the new faces. Shukla finds himself back in the BCCI top brass after having resigned as IPL chairman earlier this year.

The BCCI has five vice-presidents each representing the five zones of the country. Chitrak Mitra of Bengal (East Zone) and Shivlal Yadav of Hyderabad (South Zone) have been given an year's extension. Sources say Dabir of Vidarbha and Shah of Saurashtra were not keen on an extension. Dabir is a close confidant of former BCCI president Shashank Manohar, whose name was doing the rounds as Srinivasan's opponent. Sources said Shah had recently become "anti-Srinivasan" and therefore opted out.

Srinivasan has realigned his 'supporters' and awarded them with plum positions in his 'cabinet.' Savant is a clear example. A BCCI insider say: "Savant had to be accommodated in the core team with a good designation as he had helped Srinivasan out during the crisis situation that emerged due to the IPL spot-fixing scandal."

The BCCI  source said: "Savant was entrusted with a specific job of delaying the Mumbai Cricket Association elections so that Sharad Pawar doesn't stand in Mr Srinivasan's way. He managed that effectively by delaying the MCA elections to the third week of October. Now although he was never Srinivasan's first choice as treasurer, he had to be rewarded for helping the Chennai strongman."

Sanjay Patel (Baroda) has officially been nominated as BCCI secretary. He was baby-sitting after Sanjay Jagdale resigned on moral grounds after the IPL scandal broke. Anirudh Chaudhary of Haryana will be the new treasurer. This position had fallen vacant after Maharashtra's Ajay Shirke, who like Jagdale, had resigned as BCCI treasurer. Anurag Thakur will remain as BCCI joint secretary.

The 'election' of this panel will now be a mere formality at Sunday's AGM. The meeting will now become a regular mundane affair with a couple of positions expected to generate some interest. One of them will be the position of the next IPL chairman. Former president Jagmohan Dalmiya's name has been doing the rounds. Like a Savant or a Patel, Dalmiya has been baby-sitting the BCCI when Srinivasan stepped aside in June when the IPL scandal involving his team Chennai Super Kings broke. But will age be a deterrent? Dalmiya is 73 and the IPL may need a younger leader.

But Sunday may be the start of a new drama as the Supreme Court, on Monday, hears a petition to keep the controversial Srinivasan out of BCCI. The apex court has already said that Srinivasan cannot assume office till cleared by the law. In the 85-year-old history of the BCCI, such a situation has never cropped up. "We will play it by the ear," said a senior BCCI official. Srinivasan will be the king who will continue to wear a crown of thorns.

BCCI panel:

N Srinivasan - President

Sanjay Patel - Secretary

Anurag Thakur- Jt. Secy

Anirudh Chaudhary- Treasurer

Rajeev Shukla- VP Central

SK Bansal- VP North

Ravi Savant- VP West

Shivlal Yadav- VP South

Chitrak Mitra- VP East