BCCI withholds subsidies to CAB

MUMBAI: After taking him to court and suspending him from the board, the BCCI has bowled another bouncer at Jagmohan Dalmiya.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has now withheld all subsidies and payments to his association — the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).

According to BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah, the payments have been stopped because the CAB president has failed to furnish details of the PILCOM account, formed to run the World Cup in India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka in 1996.

Shah said accounts of more than Rs40 crore have not been submitted by Dalmiya despite reminders. 

This means the CAB, which runs Eden Gardens, will not get its share of the board's high television revenue and grants for conducting domestic tournaments - a loss of income worth at least Rs10 crore.

This amount will be higher next year as television revenues are expected to rise. The CAB will also not get any assistance for infrastructure development. Every association is eligible to seek up to Rs10 crore from the board.

"We'll stop the payment till the money is adjusted," BCCI treasurer N Srinivasan told DNA.

The CAB reacted strongly. "We're not dependent on the board's money to run our activities," said Gautam Dasgupta, Dalmiya's close aide and a CAB official. "We also know how to recover our money."

Shah said the BCCI acted on the recommendation of its finance committee, headed by the treasurer. But Dasgupta, who is a member of the finance committee, told DNA that he cannot recall any such decision.

Dalmiya, meanwhile, refused to react. "Let me see the papers and reports first. I'll comment later," he said.