CHENNAI: Expected to be routine with the PILCOM funds issue subjudice, the BCCI Special General Body meeting grew a touch dramatic here on Wednesday.

On an afternoon sponsorship bids up for ratification were duly approved, housekeeping was satisfactorily dealt with, and news of the Board's income doubling was revealed, the only announcement that had even a whiff of the untoward was that the proposed tri-series featuring Australia and West Indies, not co-hosted by Singapore and Kuala Lumpur as previously announced.

Dramatic scenes

But, the drama had occurred earlier in the day. Representatives of the Bihar Players' Association threatened self-immolation if their demands for affiliation of the Bihar Cricket Association were not met. The police took the group into preventive custody. "We had a letter, but we weren't allowed to enter the hotel," said Mrithunjai Tiwari, President of the Bihar Players' Association.

It is learnt that the police later took members of the Pondicherry Players' Association into custody. They were said to have been protesting outside the hotel for a separate unit.

In the Board meeting, however, the Bihar-Jharkhand issue was resolved without incident. The path to unification was cleared. N. Srinivasan, Treasurer, BCCI, said the Jaitley Committee tabled a report that authorised Board President Sharad Pawar to appoint a three-member committee to conduct elections in the old, undivided Bihar Cricket Association.

Srinivasan added though that the decision couldn't be implemented until the case — challenging the restoration of membership to the Bihar CA — in a Ranchi court was settled.

PILCOM funds issue

On the issue of Dalmiya allegedly misappropriating PILCOM funds, Srinivasan said the Board's auditors had confirmed its position that the former BCCI President had not been certified to operate the funds since he ceased to function as Secretary. Moreover, the auditors reported to the Board that Dalmiya had made available books of account during that period — books of account that have gone missing since.

Among less contentious issues, the Working Committee ratified the sponsorship deals for Team India's formal wear and accessories (Pantaloon, Rs. 20 crore for four years), BCCI Ratings and Awards (Percept D'Marc, Rs. 30.12 crore for five years), and the web portal bid by Accenture, announced Lalit Modi, who chaired the Marketing Committee.

Venue shift

The tri-series was shifted to Kuala Lumpur, said Modi, "because of cost reasons." He said Singapore would be considered for future series. The other issues discussed in the Working Committee included dealing with the counterfeiting of Board property, managing archives, and approving Microsoft as the technology partner for monitoring umpires.

Srinivasan announced that the BCCI's income for the year 2005/06 had more than doubled to Rs. 430 crore (from Rs 210 crore), on account of media rights worth Rs. 340 crore. He also said the Board would fund future programmes of women's cricket.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail