The newly-elected Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president, Shashank Manohar, has promised to initiate stern and practical steps and deliver results in two months to win back the confidence of Indian cricket fans.
Within minutes of getting elected unopposed at a Special General Meeting here on Sunday, the 58-year-old lawyer from Nagpur highlighted the issues he would deal with in a proactive manner.
“Nothing wrong is being done in the Board. However, a perception has been created in the minds of the people that something is wrong. In order to clear that myth and change the perception, we have to take measures immediately,” he said at the start of his second term.
The issue of conflict of interest, which has been on the boil for some years now, has been given top priority by the incoming president. Mr. Manohar also cited corruption as a major challenge.
He said efforts would be made to stage the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in India (March-April 2016) in a transparent manner.
Mr. Manohar rated the past president, N. Srinivasan, as by far the best secretary of the BCCI, after Jagmohan Dalmiya, and said his endeavour would be to unify all 30 affiliates of the Board. “My term of office is for two years and more; but whatever measures I have explained, they will be implemented in full force in the next two months.”
He said he would not use the chairman’s vote and the casting vote till the Memorandum and Rules and Regulations of the BCCI were amended.
The newly-elected BCCI president has said that he and others in the Board will not work with a vindictive attitude. He wants to present the BCCI as a single unit, especially with the Supreme Court-appointed Justice R.M. Lodha commission set to recommend best practices and reforms by end of this year.
“We don’t want to fight among ourselves. Our first priority is to clean up the image of the Board; the cricket fan is important for us. All 30 affiliated members, including the TNCA, will have to work together,’’ said Manohar, fielding questions at the Cricket Centre here on Sunday.
“You all know that the BCCI is a huge brand. This brand has been created because of the love of the fans and the cricket-loving population of this country. Without the support of the fans, it would not have been possible for the board to become this big.
“In the last few years the confidence of the cricket loving fans has been shaken due to certain things which unfortunately happened. But leaving it all aside, it is now the duty of all members of the board to build the reputation of the Board and bring it back to its original reputation. For building it (reputation), a lot of administrators have got back.’’
Regulations “As regards the ‘conflict of interest’ issues, the Board would bring regulations for administrations, players and their staff. This would be done in a month’s time. The Board would also appoint an Ombudsman who would be independent of the Board and would look into the complaints as regards to the conflict of interest of the administrators, players and their staff,’’ said Manohar.
“The Board would lay down the norms and take forward measures to prevent corruption in the game. The Board will run programmes to educate the players. The Board does not have any investigative powers and therefore our hands are tied. We would like to meet the government officials and see if we can get the help of investigating agencies. This thing can also be worked out to curb corruption in the game so that we can restore the faith of the cricket fan.’’
When asked if he has a standpoint on past president N. Srinivasan, the BCCI chief replied: “I have no stand at all. When he attends the BCCI meeting, he will be like any other member of the Board and all decisions will be taken by the members. Also, it is for the AGM to decide if he would continue to be BCCI’s representative at the ICC.’’
IPL 2016 will be held Manohar, who at the height of the IPL match-fixing and betting scandal had said that the franchise-based T20 tournament should be suspended for one year, assured that IPL 2016 will be held.
When queried about the fate of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, he said “I have not seen all the documents. It’s only 25 minutes ago, I was elected BCCI president.’’
“It’s believed that the NCA activities are not up to the mark as of today. We must see to it that the NCA functions round the year so that cricketing talent is developed. Today we are short of the second line; there are no spinners in this country. The idea is to build a lot and make them available as a replacement for the current players,’’ said Manohar
Manohar’s views on other matters:
Whether BCCI should come under RTI: Not at all. It cannot apply to one institution. The act defines to whom it applies, if the government amends the law, I have nothing to say. As of today the law applies only to State governments, institutions controlled by either Centre or State, institutions which are substantially aided by the government. We do not fall in either of these categories. The RTI cannot be made applicable to us. The BCCI should not be singled out and it should not be applied.
On his exchange of emails with Lalit Modi: If I send a mail to the Queen of England, does it mean that I am friendly with the Queen of England. I may meet a hundred people, but it doesn’t mean that it would affect my functioning at the BCCI. The day it affects, I will resign. I cannot even start a computer!
About young and player administrators: It’s good to have young administrators because they bring fresh ideas whereas the old stay with fixed notions. I would encourage a good administrator, where he’s a player or not.
On the perjury case conflict (between secretary Anurag Thakur and treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary): It’s been informally discussed and sorted out.
On DRS: I have been consistent in my stand. I am agreeable to anything other than LBW decision; in LBW you’re substituting the opinion of the on-field umpire with the third umpire. I have always maintained that since 2010.
Playing Pakistan: An India-Pakistan series depends not only on the decision of the two Boards, but also on the decision of the two governments.
