CoA faces BCCI members' wrath

The presence of N. Srinivasan at the SGM was justified by BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Chaudhary who said that a member unit had the freedom to choose its own representatives provided it didn't violate the Supreme Court order.

Srinivasan retorted to a query from a reporter after the meeting about his eligibility for the meeting, saying “I have more right than you to attend the meeting”.

The implementation of the Supreme Court order related to administrative reforms in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) may have dominated the latter half of Monday's Special General Body meeting. However, a majority of the opening half saw the BCCI state association representatives venting their anger against the modus operandi of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA).

READ: BCCI to examine Supreme Court order

Sportstar understands that Jyotiraditya Scinidia, the Madhya Pradesh representative, questioned the logic behind the CoA recently circulating “records” of its decisions with regard to the BCCI's administration to the members.

He is also understood to have pointed out the CoA double standards in involving BCCI sub-committees. “He questioned the logic behind involving the IPL governing council for the conduct of the league and ignoring the marketing committee, for instance, while inviting various bids,” said a member who attended the meeting, preferring anonymity.

According to another attendee, the BCCI hierarchy, including acting secretary Amitabh Chaudhary and chief executive Rahul Johri, appeared to be taken aback by Scindia's onslaught and asked Adarsh Saxena, the lawyer representing Cyril Amarachand Mangaldas, the firm representing CoA, to respond. “During his reply, Saxena happened to mention: 'CoA is the working committee' and saw the BCCI veterans tearing him apart.”

N. Srinivasan, who controversially attended the meeting on behalf of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, ensured Saxena's response was recorded and then he along with Scindia and Abhay Apte, the Maharashtra Cricket Association president, asked for the due procedure to be followed in all the decisions taken by the CoA during its six-month stint so far.

“It was demanded that since the BCCI constitution is yet to amended, all the CoA decisions should be routed through the concerned sub-committees,” said a former BCCI office-bearer, who also attended the meeting.

Srinivasan's presence justified

Despite the Supreme Court clarifying that the last year's order barred ineligible individuals from holding posts in state association and/ or the BCCI, Srinivasan's nomination had come under the scanner. After all, it was his defiance to act against his son-in-law – an official of the Chennai Super Kings, the IPL franchise owned by Srinivasan's India Cements arrested for alleged corrupt activities during the 2013 IPL – that is believed to have led to the apex court ordering the BCCI overhaul.

While Srinivasan retorted to a query from a reporter after the meeting about his eligibility for the meeting, saying “I have more right than you to attend the meeting,” BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Chaudhary admitted the former BCCI and ICC chief couldn't be stopped from attending. “Which individual is chosen to represent a member unit is their wish as long as it is not supposed to violate the Supreme Court order,” Chaudhary said.
 

ICC drama

The meeting was also briefed on the BCCI settling for the ICC's revenue share offer of USD 405 million for the ongoing eight-year cycle from its central pool. The Shashank Manohar-led ICC dispensation had brought down the BCCI share to USD 293m from USD 570m, proposed by his predecessor Srinivasan, before the ICC revised it to USD 405 million in the last week.
 

CoA chief Vinod Rai had complimented Chaudhary and Johri for getting a larger share for the BCCI, according to Chaudhary, the SGM was “satisfied” with the deal. However, Srinivasan is understood to have expressed his displeasure at the BCCI drifting away from the USD 570m deal.
 

Non-committal on World XI

In order to faciliate return of international cricket to Pakistan, the ICC has recently announced a three T20I series between the host and World XI in the war-hit nation. Asked if the BCCI will allow Indian cricketers, if selected, to participate in the series, Chaudhary played safe. “We should wait till the selection of the World XI. If the matches were scheduled alongside any of our series, naturally our players can't take part (for World XI),” he said.
 

Report sought from Rajasthan CA

Ever since the Rajasthan Cricket Association saw Lalit Modi, banned for life from BCCI, return as the president in 2014, the RCA has been suspended by the BCCI. Now that Modi doesn't hold a post in the association after the recent election, which saw his son defeated for the president's post, the BCCI SGM discussed revoking the suspension.

"The association has conducted the elections as per the court order and has communicated to us that all impediments will be removed including the litigations against BCCI. The house felt we must reply and inform them to submit a formal answer to the show-cause (suspension) notice,” he said.

Chaudhary also informed that Assam and Jammu and Kashmir's request for additional funds for completion of international stadiums were kept on hold.