BCCI violates own constitution, postpones AGM to November 20

N Srinivasan

Chennai, Sep 26 (IANS) The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Friday, violated its own constitution and postponed the Annual General Meeting (AGM) slated for September 30 to November 20, a step aimed at largely helping sidelined chief N. Srinivasan to get re-elected for a third term in office.

Clause 16.1 of the BCCI's Memorandum and Rules and Regulations clearly states: "The annual general meeting of the Board shall be held every year, not later than 30th September at such place and time as the president may fix."

The working committee of the BCCI that met here on Thursday decided to host the AGM on November 20, anticipating that the Supreme Court appointed Mukul Mudgal Committee would submit its final report regarding the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) scandal by the first week of November.

Srinivasan, who has been removed as the president of the BCCI by the Supreme Court pending investigation, attended the meeting as the president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), which is a member of the BCCI working committee. He got full support from all the members, including the east zone, which is likely to nominate him for re-election. The committee also felicitated Srinivasan for being appointed the chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

"The Committee fixed the date and venue of the AGM of the Board. The AGM will be held at Chennai on 20th November 2014," the BCCI said in a statement.

Meanwhile, it was also decided that former India captain Ravi Shastri will continue as the team director until the end of the 2015 World Cup. Duncan Fletcher will remain the head coach and the tenures of the three support staff members - Sanjay Bangar, B Arun and R Sridhar - have been extended until the end of the World Cup.

Joe Dawes and Trevor Penney, India's bowling and fielding coaches respectively, who were dropped during the series in England have been asked to complete their terms at the National Cricket Academy.

"Mr. Ravi Shastri will oversee the activities of the Indian Team as a Director during the West Indies Home Series and the Test Series in Australia. He will be with the Indian Team on a full-time basis during the Triangular series in Australia and also for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015," the statement added.

The working committee also approved the accounts for the previous financial year and formed a special committee to assess the damage caused to the cricketing infrastructure by the floods in Jammu and Kashmir.

The BCCI is being forced to postpone its elections after the Supreme Court, on September 1, ignored pleas to reinstate Srinivasan as its president. The apex court also gave two more months to the Mukul Mudgal Committee to submit the final report in the spot-fixing and betting scandal in the 2013 edition of the IPL. The scam involved 13 people, including some prominent cricketers.