Hyderabad: On Wednesday, as former India captain Sourav Ganguly took charge as the new BCCI president with a new set of office-bearers, the Apex Council firmly set their eyes on regaining lost ground at the International Cricket Council.
The members of the panel held discussions for the same concern at the BCCI headquarters on Wednesday and if reports are to be believed, the members of the Apex Council are unanimous in their view that N Srinivasan, the former chairman of the ICC, should be named India's representative at the governing body once again.
Who is N Srinivasan?
- Narayanaswami Srinivasan is an Indian industrialist and the former Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC). He also served as the President of the BCCI, before being removed from the post in 2014 due to IPL match-fixing scandal.
- Srinivasan was introduced to cricket administration by former BCCI president A. C. Muthiah. He was the Secretary of the BCCI before becoming the President, taking over the reins from Shashank Manohar, in 2011.
- He was the de-facto owner of the Chennai Super Kings, by means of his position as the vice-chairman and managing director of India Cements Ltd.
- Srinivasan's daughter was recently elected unopposed as president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), while his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan is serving a life ban for his involvement in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal.
- Interestingly, despite serving as BCCI chief and ICC president, Srinivasan was barred from holding any position in the BCCI by the Supreme Court in 2014 due to his commercial interests in CSK.Timeline explaining the rise and fall of N Srinivasan
Going by the murmurs inside BCCI headquarters, it looked certain that the 74-year-old Srinivasan, despite his tainted past, could well be heading for ICC as India’s representative.
It must be mentioned here that it was during Srinivasan’s tenure as ICC president that the “Big Three” proposal --- India, Australia and England --- was accepted by the world cricket body. As per the formula agreed upon then nearly 80 per cent of the total revenue was to be distributed amongst these three nations.
If implemented, BCCI was to be the biggest beneficiary of the proposal with 22 per cent of the world share was to come in its kitty. But the man who succeeded Srinivasan in ICC, Shashank Manohar, scrapped the entire proposal in the name of “not alienating the rest of the cricketing world”.
That is the reason Srinivasan has been blaming COA chief for causing huge financial loss to BCCI for not protecting the interests during this stay in the cricket body.
It has been reliably learnt that BCCI members informally discussed this issue during the informal get together here on the eve of the GBM on Wednesday.
“Why should India not have a lion’s share in the ICC kitty when we generate nearly 80 per cent of the total revenue,” Srinivasan was seen as telling an official on Thursday, adding: “I did the same when I went to ICC. For the first time, I got India its due recognition in the committee of nations. Unfortunately, things have been frittered away by subsequent events and people. But you can't take away anything from India permanently because you have to recognise that India is literally sustaining international cricket. India is bankrolling world cricket. So, I’m not worried because, it may take time, but we will eventually get our due.”
Meanwhile, new BCCI president Ganguly looks to be on the same page when it comes to dealing with the ICC.
“The ICC matter is important for everyone to know. BCCI is to get $372 million from the ICC in the five-year cycle. It is a lot heavy at the back end because there are two World Cups --- T20 World Cup in Australia and the Champions Trophy in India. Till now, we have got whatever it is and we make sure we get our due. We will work with the ICC and take this forward,” Ganguly echoed his priorities in his first presser after taking over on Thursday.
Ganguly, however, was quite guarded when fielding a question about who would be named India’s director in the ICC Board as the BCCI can name its director and alternate director.
“No, it has not been decided. But the ICC matter is important for everyone to know, don’t just go on hearsay."
