Srinivasan camp to go into huddle to tackle AGM trouble
MUMBAI: A secret informal meeting to conjure up support for postponing the BCCI AGM is scheduled to be held in Chennai on Sunday.
Aimed at facilitating N Srinivasan’s comeback to the BCCI, the meeting may not merely seek a show of strength, but could also make the attending associations aware of the modalities to be adopted for adjournment without conducting crucial business, mainly the elections, even if the AGM is convened within the stipulated September-end deadline.
The BCCI has summoned 20 associations, which are loyal to Srinivasan. A senior BCCI official, who has convened the meeting, told HT that Hyderabad, Andhra and Odisha will not be able to attend due to unavoidable reasons, but their absence will not affect the numbers game.
“Since we have our AGM and elections on Sunday, no one from the HCA (Hyderabad Cricket Association) will be able to attend the Chennai meeting,” said former India spinner Arshad Ayub, who is a presidential candidate.
The meeting will seek to present a united front on how the Board’s functioning has come to a standstill under the circumstances with the interim president’s powers being limited. Hence, a legal recourse is expected, either by seeking an approval from the Registrar of Societies (the BCCI is registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act) for adjournment or approaching the court for a postponement citing constitutional impediments.
However, there are still sections in the Srinivasan camp who are either unaware of the meeting or feigned ignorance.
The remaining associations, who apparently have not been invited for the meeting, form a mix of Srinivasan’s detractors and fence-sitters.
While Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Vidarbha and Saurashtra are supposedly antiSrinivasan, the intent of Punjab, Cricket Association of Bengal, National Cricket Club and Mumbai Cricket Association is not clear.