Sunil Gavaskar’s innings as interim president of the BCCI looking into matters related to the IPL will begin with a working committee meeting.
The Supreme Court on Friday passed an order directing N Srinivasan to step aside and asked the former India captain to manage affairs of the IPL. Srinivasan didn’t comment but BCCI officials said they were satisfied with the arrangement.
“Gavaskar will be in charge of the IPL and since he is not versed with the ways of the BCCI, it’s likely that he will convene a working committee meeting to get introduced to the members. It will help him understand the way the boards functions and what the members think. Although no date has been finalised, the meeting should be called soon,” said BCCI vice-president Ravi Sawant.
Till a day earlier, several BCCI members were in favour of a special general body meeting to discuss matters related to IPL and the uncertainty surrounding it. Following Friday’s court order, Sawant ruled it out. “There is no uncertainty now, so a special general body meeting is not required.”
Sawant said the working committee is the right forum for Gasavkar to discuss with the members what his plans are and for the members to express their views. “The working committee is the executive body of the board. It is the committee which takes all important decisions. For Gavaskar to know how the board functions, it is the most appropriate place,” said Sawant.
With Gavaskar looking after the IPL, the BCCI’s senior vice-president from South Zone Shivlal Yadav will look after other matters. Sawant added that Yadav has already taken charge and will continue to be in office till the annual general meeting in September.
Whether Srinivasan can return as president will depend on the progress of the probe and the annual general meeting. The Tamil Nadu strongman’s three-year tenure ends in September and if he wants to come back, he has to seek re-election.
LITTLE MASTER IN THE HOT SPOT
A look at some of the roles the legend has donned off the field over the years
Gavaskar has written four books on cricket — Sunny Days (autobiography), Idols, Runs ‘n’ Ruins and One Day Wonders. On the occasion of his 50th birthday, a compilation of his three books in one called The Sunil Gavaskar Omnibus was published.
The legend also served as an advisor to the Indian national cricket team during the home series against Australia in 2004.
Is the co-founder of Professional Management Group (PMG), a sports marketing agency, which reportedly manages three India players — Virender Sehwag, Varun Aaron and Manoj Tiwary — currently. Incidentally, PMG is India’s first sports marketing company.
Gavaskar also tried his hand at acting on the silver screen. He played the lead role in the Marathi movie ‘Savli Premachi’. The movie did not receive much appreciation though. After many years he appeared in a guest role in a Hindi movie ‘Maalamal’. He has sung a Marathi song ‘Ya Duniyemadhye Thambayaala Vel Konala’ which was written by noted Marathi lyricist Shantaram Nandgaonkar. The song depicted the similarities between a cricket match and real life. It had become popular.
Sunil Gavaskar was part of the IPL Governing Council earlier, but was dropped after a shake-up in 2010. It was then alleged that Gavaskar was unwilling to be part of the new set-up since the post was made honorary. But Sunny hit back at these allegations.
PMG also handled promotional activities of automobile giants Volkswagen in IPL.
In a PMG weekly production, Beyond the Boundary, aired on Espn-Star, Gavaskar discussed several cricket topics. PMG also served as a catalyst to the careers of TV anchor & comedian Cyrus Broacha and cricket expert Harsha Bhogle.
Also, his role as chief selector for the ICC World XI came under criticism due to some controversial selections, which resulted in one-sided matches against the ICC World champions, Australia.
In 2000, he became chairman of the ICC cricket committee, which is an honorary position. However, his stint with cricket’s parent body was forcefully ended after eight years. His dual role as the ICC chairman and television commentator did not go well with ICC officials, and in 2008 he was told by then ICC CEO Malcolm Speed to choose between the two.
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