Sharad Pawar may be leaving the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and getting ready to take over the International Cricket Council (ICC), but the senior politician has ensured he continues to have a say in the affairs of the board. In the BCCI’s AGM on Saturday, Pawar is all set to nominate himself as the chairman of the marketing committee, taking over from BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi.

Modi, hugely responsible for why the BCCI kept laughing its way to the bank over the last couple of years, will most likely not be on the committee anymore — a move that also suggests members aren’t entirely happy with Modi enjoying complete authority as far as the board’s financial matters are concerned.

Also, the BCCI has made a couple of other crucial decisions, making it mandatory for all IPL-awarded contracts to enter an open bidding in future and nominating the board’s secretary to sign on all IPL-related contracts henceforth. “This is to ensure that there is no favouritism,” said a board official.

This could mean the Indian Premier League (IPL), which was seen as a body independent of the board’s style of working and hugely under the control of its commissioner Modi, will now come under more direct control of the board.

The only respite for Modi comes with Pawar taking a softer stand on Rajasthan’s Future Cricket Academy allowing the Australians world-class facilities ahead of the Test series. While certain members of the board have taken serious objection, Pawar clarified his stance saying: “It’s not an issue. After all, we Indians are hospitable people.”

... contd.