Former BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke, joint secretary Amitabh Chaudhary, treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhary and IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla were all seen greeting each other. Mumbai Cricket Association was represented by PV Shetty.
The much-hyped meeting of the ineligible BCCI officials called in Bengaluru has proved to be a flop as no substantial decision of unity was reached between the 24 members that attended the gathering on Saturday.
With the sword of Supreme Court hanging on their neck, Tamil Nadu Cricket Association's ousted president N Srinivasan's efforts to create some uncertainty in Indian cricket failed to buy any takers. The only takeaway point from the meet was that former BCCI president Anurag Thakur surprisingly turned up and was seen warmly shaking hands with the man he dethroned after 2013 IPL spot-fixing saga.
"The gathering turned out to be like a condolence meeting. The huddle was more or less in agreement that there are very few options ahead after the SC order of January 3," an insider told DNA after the meeting. "The meeting turned out to be a get-together of people who are no longer eligible to hold any post in their states."
Out of the total 30 state units, only six associations – Railways, Services, Universities, National Cricket Club (NCC), Vidarbha Cricket Association and Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) – gave the meeting a miss. DDCA vice-president CK Khanna was expected to reach Bengaluru but was stopped by his confidants citing contempt of court.
Former BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke, joint secretary Amitabh Chaudhary, treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhary and IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla were all seen greeting each other. Mumbai Cricket Association was represented by PV Shetty.
Going by an insider's account, no state representative was ready to buy any argument related to resisting SC orders. "I only wasted my time," another member told DNA.
In fact, Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association's (UPCA) secretary Shukla was the first one to leave the venue after he apparently refused to play ball with Srini camp.
"Someone asked Shukla whether Kanpur's stadium was available for the India-England T20 game," an insider said. "We all knew what the talk was all about. The question of not hosting any match or not making available any association's ground could be suicidal. And that's what Shukla told the gathering before leaving the place."
This paper has been reporting how a group of BCCI officials had been mulling over the idea of putting a spanner in the works of Justice Lodha panel post the SC orders of sacking Thakur and Shirke on January 2.
"This was even planned before the third Test between India and New Zealand in Indore in October last year. But MPCA didn't allow that to happen," a state official said.
Asked if there were discussions of forming a parallel body to BCCI in the meeting, the source said: "Today's meeting was about checking the strength. And when someone pointed out that 18 out of 30 have already given their consent in writing to Justice Lodha panel, there was no discussion on anything else. We then spoke about whether another meeting should be convened soon in a fortnight after consulting the top legal minds," the source said.
Meanwhile, a source in Lodha panel said the BCCI meeting on Saturday could amount to contempt of court.
"Any step which may hamper the smooth functioning of the administration would amount to contempt of Supreme Court. If anyone ties and creates any hurdle in the staging of international or domestic games, it will be seen as sabotaging the court order," the Lodha panel source said.
With SC set to appoint the panel of administrators on January 19, the disgraced BCCI officials may be running short of time for now.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "N Srinivasan")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}