Why are BCCI bosses so scared of Srinivasan?

The Indian cricket board seems to be in no hurry to get on with even usual business. At least, that’s the impression one got after president Jagmohan Dalmiya adjourned the working committee meeting in Kolkata on Friday after N Srinivasan turned up and wanted to be part of the proceedings.

For all those who think Srinivasan now has a say in only matters relating to the International Cricket Council (ICC), as its chairman, be sure, he continues to have a strong hold on the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association.

This year, he was elected president of the TNCA unopposed for the 14th year in a row. Those who follow TNCA politics closely vouch there is almost none who can stand up to him.

It is not as if the working committee of the BCCI got to know Srinivasan would be coming to Kolkata only a day before the important meeting that was to decide on the fate of two Indian Premier League (IPL) teams - the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR).

With the Justice RM Lodha panel giving its recommendations on the CSK and RR, the working committee had to take important decisions on it. This was preceded by IPL governing council meetings which had also done their work. Then again, the working committee also had to transact business on ratifying reports submitted by sub-committees of the board.

What transpired on Friday was so typical of how Srinivasan comes well-prepared legally and people sitting in the meeting are afraid to tell him he cannot be present. If Srinivasan could come for the Kolkata meeting armed with an opinion from Justice Srikrishna that he was well within his rights to attend, what stopped the BCCI bosses from getting a legal opinion? There is a large number of legal luminaries available for consultation and the BCCI could easily have hired one of them to give an opinion on Srinivasan’s locus standi. That the board’s legal expert Usha Nath Banerjee stood up and asked for proof on the CSK ownership change on Friday seemed a case of unnecessary delay.

If the working committee wanted to show intent in doing business, it could have gone through a voice vote on whether or not Srinivasan should be allowed to be part of the meeting.

Insiders say Srinivasan had earlier agreed to recuse himself from matters pertaining to the IPL, but even before the meeting began, there seemed to be no floor strategy as in the Parliament these days.

For all those who have followed truncated Parliament sessions live, the minority opposition (Congress) gave a hard time to the ruling NDA and did not allow the government to transact business, and Srinivasan’s act of defiance seemed similar.

To be sure, as a sporting body, the BCCI needs to show authority in dealing with a man who has a larger-than-life image. In the past, whenever there have been ticklish issues, BCCI bosses have consulted Arun Jaitley on how to handle them.

Though the Union finance minister is no longer a part of the BCCI setup, he would not have said "no" had he been approached.

The situation now is one of sheer inertia where the working committee has been caught napping and the burning IPL issue is not being addressed. It is well known that when a working committee meeting takes place, there is a lot of cost involved. Officials fly in and out, stay in five-star hotels, and hiring conference rooms and so on cost a bomb.

Obviously, nobody in the BCCI is worried about the wastage of money, with crores of rupees already splurged on legal eagles fighting their battles in the Supreme Court when the IPL drama was being played out.

With the Indian team now in Sri Lanka playing cricket that is brilliant one day and mediocre the next, fans have a right to demand why the sport cannot be run in a more professional manner.

Not being able to deal with the corruption and sleaze of the IPL and now lacking foresight in preparation for important meetings, the BCCI has become weaker. When Srinivasan ran Indian cricket, he was the czar. None could stand up and question him.

Now that Srinivasan is just one more state cricket association official, why is the BCCI unable to take a stand? Surely, one man cannot hold so much fear for the BCCI which has been caught sleeping at the wheel once again.