Dalmiya fails to curry favour with Srini

KOLKATA: The chequered career of Jagmohan Dalmiya as a cricket administrator took another hit on Sunday with the ruling group in the BCCI, led by N Srinivasan, keeping him out of all the sub-committees that were formed at the AGM in Chennai.

The septuagenarian president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), who was entrusted with the job keeping BCCI's administrative machinery in motion following the twin resignations of secretary Sanjay Jagdale and treasurer Ajay Shirke and the subsequent stepping aside from the president's post by Srinivasan in June, was given the cold shoulder by the ruling group which was elected unopposed at the AGM.

With the Supreme Court restraining Srinivasan from assuming office till the disposal of the SLP pertaining to corruption issues in IPL 6, it was expected that Dalmiya, a former ICC president, would be given a more significant role in a crisis-ridden BCCI.

But the manner in which he has been sidelined clearly suggests that the trust-deficit in Srinivasan-Dalmiya equation is at an all-time high.

That Dalmiya would cease to continue in his baby-sitting role was clear as his appointment as 'caretaker administrator' in June was made in contravention to BCCI's constitution. Dalmiya was, however, tipped to take over as the IPL's new chairman.

By handing over the reins of the IPL to Ranjib Biswal, Srinivasan has awarded loyalty bonus to the Odisha cricket chief, who used to be a staunch supporter of Dalmiya when the latter was at the helm of the BCCI.

By choosing Biswal over Dalmiya, Srinivasan has also consolidated his vote bank in East Zone. Dalmiya, whose image as the 'Big Dada' of Indian cricket took a beating after he was suspended by the BCCI on the charges of misappropriation of PILCOM funds (pertaining to the 1996 World Cup), is now a pale shadow of the man who broke England and Australia's hegemony in the ICC.

Even though he subsequently had his suspension lifted vide a court order and returned to the BCCI fold, his one-time loyalists ditched him and sided with the new dispensation under Sharad Pawar in 2005.

Things have come to such a pass that Dalmiya has not only lost the support of East Zone constituents (Assam, Tripura, Jharkhand and Odisha) but also stands marginalized in his own association (CAB).

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Shweta Pandey

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