The members of the BCCI working committee are expected to deliberate on the formation of a fresh probe panel at its crucial meeting in Mumbai on Sunday.
In its hearing on April 16, the Supreme Court had asked the BCCI to conduct a probe against those named in Justice Mudgal commission’s report on the IPL spot-fixing scandal to maintain its institutional autonomy.
With the next hearing in the Supreme Court coming up on April 22, it’s important for the BCCI to finalise its plans regarding the probe and decide future course of action. The Mumbai meeting is the most appropriate platform to discuss this issue, given that the working committee is the most powerful sub-committee.
As things stand now, the working committee members have the option of going for a CBI inquiry or conduct a probe by forming its own panel, headed by someone like former BCCI president Shashank Manohar. They can also propose a Special Investigative Team but a decision on this can emerge only after the meeting.
“There will be different views but the most important part is, there has to be unanimity. Only then can we proceed towards cleaning up the image of the board, which has suffered severely in the last year,” said a working committee member.
He refused to speak on the nature on the probe, saying this depends on what the committee decides. “We can speculate, but it will not give us the clear picture. So we have to see what the members want,” he said.
Under normal circumstances, the BCCI president chairs working committee meetings, but with N Srinivasan sidelined, acting president in matters other than the IPL, Shivlal Yadav will chair Sunday’s meeting. The working committee has 24 members including the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association which is expected to be represented by its secretary Kasi Viswanathan.
Former BCCI president and Srinivasan’s vocal critic IS Bindra could have represented the Punjab Cricket Association, but it has been learnt that its secretary MP Pandove will attend Sunday’s meeting. This leaves another former president, the Cricket Association of Bengal’s Jagmohan Dalmiya as the senior most member on the floor.
A senior BCCI member who had urged the board to call a working committee meeting said the name of Srinivasan can also come up during the meeting. “The BCCI has to decide who represents it at the ICC,” he said. But the focus of the meeting is expected to be on the formation of the probe panel. Only then can the BCCI start walking on the road suggested by the apex court.