Jagmohan Dalmiya has all financial powers in BCCI

Mangalore Today/NDTV

Chennai, June-3: Jagmohan Dalmiya, as the interim president of the BCCI, will have financial powers, sources in India’s cash-rich cricket board have said. As he replaces N Srinivasan, who has "stepped aside" for a month, Mr Dalmiya is also vested with the power to handle the portfolios of board Secretary and Treasurer.

Sanjay Jagdale and Ajay Shirke, who had resigned from these two posts on Friday, are not expected to reconsider their decision to quit, the sources said.

 

At a meeting in Chennai on Sunday, Mr Dalmiya was picked to run the day-to-day affairs of the board in the place of Mr Srinivasan, who will stay away from office of BCCI president while an investigation into allegations of spot-fixing in the just-concluded sixth edition of the Indian Premier League is completed.

Mr Dalmiya said he had asked Mr Shirke and Mr Jagdale at Sunday’s meeting to return to their posts. But he also said that should they refuse to do so, he would handle their work too.

The three-member committee, which will conduct the investigation into spot-fixing, will be re-constituted this week. When Mr Jagdale resigned as Secretary on Friday, he also opted out of the inquiry committee and he will have to be replaced.

The other two members are retired judges. Among the allegations that they will look into are those against Mr Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, who is in jail for allegedly passing information to bookies and placing bets on the IPL.

Some members of the board have slammed yesterday’s meeting, but Mr Dalmiya, who is seen as Mr Srinivasan’s mentor and has been BCCI chief in the past, said he did not agree that it was a "sham".
 
"As far as I am concerned, this is not a victory for individuals but a victory for the game of cricket," Mr Dalmiya said as he landed in Kolkata back from Chennai. "I don’t subscribe to the view that the meeting was a sham... I believe in achieving results and we will be able to accomplish our goals."
 
Mr Dalmiya has also headed the International Cricket Council or ICC in the past. He left the ICC in 2000 following a TV rights row.
 
In 2006, Mr Dalmiya was accused by the BCCI of misappropriating funds during the 1996 World Cup. The board dismissed him but he was exonerated by the Supreme Court in 2007, and believes his appointment yesterday is proof of his innocence.
 
"The most important part of my appointment (as interim BCCI chief) is the proving of my innocence," Mr Dalmiya said adding "I have come out successfully against any charges against me and without any scars."