On Monday, the new Board of Control for Cricket in India president Shashank Manohar made it clear that he meant business when he had talked about “cleaning up” cricket when he took over office last month.
The BCCI's annual general meeting on Monday decided to remove its nominee, N Srinivasan, as chairman of world cricket's governing body, the International Cricket Council. The sacking of the tainted former BCCI president Srinivasan comes a week after the resignation of Sundar Raman as chief operating officer of the Indian Premier League. Raman had come under scrutiny for his actions in the 2013 spot-fixing scandal that rocked the IPL.
In his first press conference as president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in October, Shashank Manohar emphatically declared that he would “clean the image of the board and restore the faith of the cricket-loving fans”. Many assumed that the clean-up operation would start with N Srinivasan, whose son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was implicated in betting in the IPL. Meiyappan was an official with the Chennai Super Kings, which was owned by Srinivasan. But despite the scandal, Srinivasan remained defiant and held on to the BCCI presidency for over a year, before finally being forced out by the Supreme Court in May 2014.
Even so, Srinivasan remained an important man in world cricket because he remained the chairman of the International Cricket Council. It was ironic that world cricket was being headed by a man who was ineligible to head the cricket administration in his own country. But despite many calls for his resignation, Srinivasan was unmoved.
In September, the BCCI filed an application to the Supreme Court, asking for clarification on whether Srinivasan could attend BCCI meetings in his capacity as president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. However, a month later, just a day after Shashank Manohar took over as BCCI president and promised to clean up its affairs, the application was suddenly withdrawn. This led to speculation that Srinivasan would be allowed to continue his ICC presidency in exchange for giving Manohar a free reign at the BCCI.
But Manohar proved on Monday that he had other ideas.
Conflict of interest
Not stopping at Srinivasan, Manohar went ahead and announced a few more reforms. With conflict of interest being a hot topic at the meeting, some tough calls were taken. With all-rounder Stuart Binny currently part of the Indian squad, his father and former India player Roger Binny was dropped from the selection panel.
Manohar was intent on ensuring that office-bearers and former cricketers within the BCCI do not occupy other posts that could lead to potential conflict of interest situations. For example, Ravi Shastri is currently the director of the Indian cricket team and it was felt that this role might be in conflict with his duties as member of the IPL Governing Council. With this in mind, Shastri was forced to relinquish his duties as part of the Governing Council, which administers the tournament.
Similarly, former Indian captains Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble were also asked to choose between their duties with the BCCI and their television commentary commitments. Ganguly is reported to have relinquished his commentary commitments and has been appointed as chairman of BCCI's Technical Committee. He replaces Kumble, who has chosen to continue with his commentary assignments.
After taking office, Manohar had proposed a 29-point Conflict of Interest code. In accordance with this code, the BCCI has also appointed former chief justice AP Shah to act as an ombudsman and investigate complaints of conflict of interest.
Tricky territory
However, these regulations are a tricky subject, which was made clear by a question at the press conference following the Annual General Meeting. A journalist pointed out that since Manohar had assumed the post of ICC president in addition to his role as BCCI president, this could theoretically also be construed as conflict of interest. Manohar brushed away the issue with a laugh and asked the journalist to file a complaint against him to the newly-appointed ombudsman. The bigger issue is this: most office-bearers in the BCCI have their fingers in many pies. Is it really possible to stop everyone from doing anything apart from their administrative duties? And would that even be fair?
The issue remains unresolved. But for now, Shashank Manohar has done what few BCCI administrators have done before him: walked his talk and ensured that Srinivasan, the man who was at the centre of one of Indian cricket’s most shameful episodes, is no longer an integral part of the game. In the process, Manohar has sent out an important message to the others – shape up or ship out.
We welcome your comments at
letters@scroll.in.
The BCCI's annual general meeting on Monday decided to remove its nominee, N Srinivasan, as chairman of world cricket's governing body, the International Cricket Council. The sacking of the tainted former BCCI president Srinivasan comes a week after the resignation of Sundar Raman as chief operating officer of the Indian Premier League. Raman had come under scrutiny for his actions in the 2013 spot-fixing scandal that rocked the IPL.
In his first press conference as president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in October, Shashank Manohar emphatically declared that he would “clean the image of the board and restore the faith of the cricket-loving fans”. Many assumed that the clean-up operation would start with N Srinivasan, whose son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was implicated in betting in the IPL. Meiyappan was an official with the Chennai Super Kings, which was owned by Srinivasan. But despite the scandal, Srinivasan remained defiant and held on to the BCCI presidency for over a year, before finally being forced out by the Supreme Court in May 2014.
Even so, Srinivasan remained an important man in world cricket because he remained the chairman of the International Cricket Council. It was ironic that world cricket was being headed by a man who was ineligible to head the cricket administration in his own country. But despite many calls for his resignation, Srinivasan was unmoved.
In September, the BCCI filed an application to the Supreme Court, asking for clarification on whether Srinivasan could attend BCCI meetings in his capacity as president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. However, a month later, just a day after Shashank Manohar took over as BCCI president and promised to clean up its affairs, the application was suddenly withdrawn. This led to speculation that Srinivasan would be allowed to continue his ICC presidency in exchange for giving Manohar a free reign at the BCCI.
But Manohar proved on Monday that he had other ideas.
Conflict of interest
Not stopping at Srinivasan, Manohar went ahead and announced a few more reforms. With conflict of interest being a hot topic at the meeting, some tough calls were taken. With all-rounder Stuart Binny currently part of the Indian squad, his father and former India player Roger Binny was dropped from the selection panel.
Manohar was intent on ensuring that office-bearers and former cricketers within the BCCI do not occupy other posts that could lead to potential conflict of interest situations. For example, Ravi Shastri is currently the director of the Indian cricket team and it was felt that this role might be in conflict with his duties as member of the IPL Governing Council. With this in mind, Shastri was forced to relinquish his duties as part of the Governing Council, which administers the tournament.
Similarly, former Indian captains Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble were also asked to choose between their duties with the BCCI and their television commentary commitments. Ganguly is reported to have relinquished his commentary commitments and has been appointed as chairman of BCCI's Technical Committee. He replaces Kumble, who has chosen to continue with his commentary assignments.
After taking office, Manohar had proposed a 29-point Conflict of Interest code. In accordance with this code, the BCCI has also appointed former chief justice AP Shah to act as an ombudsman and investigate complaints of conflict of interest.
Tricky territory
However, these regulations are a tricky subject, which was made clear by a question at the press conference following the Annual General Meeting. A journalist pointed out that since Manohar had assumed the post of ICC president in addition to his role as BCCI president, this could theoretically also be construed as conflict of interest. Manohar brushed away the issue with a laugh and asked the journalist to file a complaint against him to the newly-appointed ombudsman. The bigger issue is this: most office-bearers in the BCCI have their fingers in many pies. Is it really possible to stop everyone from doing anything apart from their administrative duties? And would that even be fair?
The issue remains unresolved. But for now, Shashank Manohar has done what few BCCI administrators have done before him: walked his talk and ensured that Srinivasan, the man who was at the centre of one of Indian cricket’s most shameful episodes, is no longer an integral part of the game. In the process, Manohar has sent out an important message to the others – shape up or ship out.