Clear conflict of interest,pressure mounts on BCCI chief

The obvious conflict of interest could force Srinivasan to step down from his post of BCCI president.

Even before Meiyappan’s arrest,pressure had begun to mount on Srinivasan. Earlier on Friday,D P Tripathi,the chief spokesman of Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP),asked Srinivasan to quit.

“If Mr Srinivasan has any iota of morality and public accountability then he should immediately tender his resignation,” Tripathi said. Senior NCP leader and Heavy Industries Minister Praful Patel subsequently described Tripathi’s comment as the “view of an individual person”.

Also on Friday,the Sahara group declared that they would not continue their association with the Indian national team if Srinivasan remained BCCI president. Sahara has already pulled Pune Warriors India out of the IPL.

Late Friday night,the buzz within the board was that Srini vasan’s grip over the organisation was loosening. Despite the possibility that he could step down,however,most board members were choosing to wait and watch the situation develop. Unlike on earlier occasions,there are currently few alternative power centres in the BCCI who could take up Srinivasan’s mantle.

“The issue of Srinivasan stepping down and somebody else taking over will take some time to resolve. There are no parallel power structures within the board,so finding a successor may take a while,” said a source in the BCCI.

This source also said that the issue of succession could be discussed over the weekend,when most members would be in Kolkata for the IPL final.

“Several key members of the board will be meeting in Kolkata on the sidelines of the final on Sunday. A decision on whether Srinivasan would step down and who would succeed him will be made then,” the source said. “It is likely that the last BCCI president Shashank Manohar’s views will be sought.”