And all because Narayanaswamy Srinivasan, its venerable president, chose to put self before the game he professes to serve. With a defiant Srinivasan clinging on to his chair in face of mounting pressure, it was left to two of his lieutenants to put their hands up and be counted.
With BCCI treasurer Ajay Shirke and secretary Sanjay Jagdale both tendering their resignations to salvage an ounce or two of prestige for the organization they serve, Srinivasan now stands completely isolated.
There is talk in the BCCI circles that at least three of the five vice-presidents will follow suit. If that happens, it will be complete mayhem. Even if other indignant board members choose to hold fire for the moment, the twin resignations of Shirke and Jagdale have caused enough damage to bring Srinivasan's 'empire' down.
Srinivasan's position in the BCCI has became so untenable that his resignation - whenever it comes - may no longer matter. That is because without his support base, he is like a king without his kingdom.
With an overwhelming number of BCCI members closing ranks and rising in revolt against the father-in-law of the discredited Gurunath Meiyappan, Srinivasan is unlikely to find two 'willing' candidates to fill the two positions, even temporarily.
In normal times, there would have been a clamour for these posts, but in a situation as volatile as the one that currently prevails in the BCCI, anybody stepping forward would invite the wrath of the majority.
Expect no business to be transacted and no cheques issued by the BCCI till the decks are cleared.
Srinivasan can at most delay his resignation till the next working committee meeting, which he now must call to at least accept the resignations that have been tendered.
But that is where he will come face to face with his own board members, who have so far been voicing their demand for his resignation from their preferred platforms.
The 24-member working committee, the highest decision-making arm of the BCCI, has been reduced to a lame duck without the treasurer and the secretary.
The smart money is on Srinivasan making a quiet and undignified exit, paving the way for the board members to call an SGM and elect an interim panel of office-bearers to facilitate an 'operation clean-up' of epic proportions.
What happens to probe panel?
The constitutional crisis in the BCCI came about because of Jagdale's refusal to figure on the three-member 'independent' probe panel announced by the IPL's governing council two days back.
Jagdale, who was the sole BCCI representative on the panel that also includes two retired judges from Tamil Nadu, wrote to the BCCI president about his inability to be on the panel before tendering his resignation from the secretary's post.
It is not clear who will replace Jagdale on the panel as senior governing council members Arun Jaitley and Rajeev Shukla, along with Shirke, have already refused to be considered for the position.
That leaves only Ravi Shastri, but it remains to be seen whether he agrees to take up the post.
The bigger question is who will nominate Jagdale's replacement on the panel as Srinivasan himself disassociated himself from the whole process on grounds of 'neutrality'.
0 comments:
Post a Comment