BCCI sends IPL boss to ICC meet

A key point in the agenda of the annual general meeting (AGM) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is to appoint the board’s representative or representatives to the meetings of International Cricket Council (ICC) and similar conferences. Board officials say this is a regular item on the agenda but there could be more to it.

On Saturday, the BCCI nominated Sundar Raman as its representative to attend the ICC’s chief executives committee (CEC) meeting, to be held in London on Monday. He will be standing in for BCCI secretary N Srinivasan at the conclave where the latest developments in the Decision Review System, among other issues, will be discussed.

The decision to depute Raman has raised eyebrows as there are enough and more experienced hands in the board. However Srinivasan, who is also the BCCI’s president-elect, has, evidently, more faith in the chief operating officer (COO) of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Raman, it is learnt, has been a regular to the ICC meets. Although he has not attended any official meeting of the world body as such, he has been part of the discussions and deliberations that take place on the sidelines.

There is a strong perception that Raman had helped BCCI finalise its position in the new Futures Tours Programme (FTP). Being at the helm of the IPL has helped him realise the needs of Indian cricket in the preparation of the six-year FTP which will come into force next year.

Raman’s role, of course, has not been confined to the IPL or preparing the board’s strategy vis-a-vis the ICC, alone. He, in fact, has been the invisible face behind the marketing activity the BCCI has been conducting since banishing Lalit Modi.

Raman is a specialist in the marketing arena and is known to be advising the board on way to sell its properties. He has advised the BCCI on how to market the internet, mobile and broadcast rights of the IPL and Indian cricket. It is believed that it was he who had advised the board that the base price for internet and mobile rights should be Rs3 crore.

He was a special invitee to the meeting of the marketing committee which recently opened the tenders of internet and mobile rights. Neither Srinivasan nor BCCI president Shashank Manohar was present at the meeting but both are known to trust Raman.

In fact, so close is Raman to the BCCI top brass that they closed the media conference post-AGM last year the moment there were uncomfortable questions about the IPL COO’s role in the charges levelled against Lalit Modi. Manohar said he did not see Sundar’s complicity in the IPL scandal.

At this stage, it would be premature to guess if Raman would be named as the BCCI’s representative at future ICC meetings, but BCCI sources say he could work closely with the new secretary who may not be experienced enough in dealing with the intricacies. It remains to be seen how the ‘others’ react to Raman’s growing influence.