RELIEVED JOHRI TO FOCUS ON ADMINISTRATION

MUMBAI: There was a look of relief on Rahul Johri’s face as he entered the Cricket Centre at Wankhede Stadium to resume office on Wednesday evening. Just minutes before, the BCCI CEO was exonerated of sexual harassment charges. But as one of the two-member CoA, Diana Eduljee, was against Johri’s return to BCCI, the future can be uneasy.

“My job is to focus on administration,” said Johri, when asked that Edulji wanted him out of the establishment.

Although allegations against him were found to be “false and baseless”, Veena Gowda, one of the three-member probe panel, recommended Johri “undergo some form of gender sensitivity counselling/training.”

“I have been a thorough professional all my life. All the three members of the independent inquiry are unanimous in dropping all charges and I am really grateful to them.”

Johri said he was relieved to be back. “This was the most traumatic 40 days that my family and I have spent, god is kind. It is a tremendous feeling of relief; I am really grateful to my entire family and close friends for their unflinching support. We were always confident that the truth will finally emerge.”

Johri, who had done the groundwork for the case, said: “That was a great sense of relief. The amount of time and effort that went into the Pakistan matter was enormous and I am thankful to the BCCI legal team who worked like a well-oiled machine and won the case.”