On a day the Supreme Court admitted a contempt petition against the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) president in abeyance N Srinivasan, former board president and Union minister Sharad Pawar sounded positive about cleaning up the sport in the country.

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

Pawar added that on February 26th he will take a decision whether to contest the forthcoming elections for the board's top post.

Earlier in the day, the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) had moved the Supreme Court seeking contempt proceedings against Srinivasan and other BCCI officials for holding a working committee meeting to decide on holding Annual General Meeting in March in alleged violation of the apex court directions.

Pawar, who is seen as the rallying point for all Srinivasan detractors, told dna on Wednesday that India's name has taken a beating due to the betting and spot-fixing scandal in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Stopping short of announcing that he will vie for the BCCI's top post in the March 2 elections, Pawar indicated that people, worried about the state of cricket in the country, are egging him to lead the fight to put the sport back in order.

"There are certain people in the BCCI who are concerned about what's happening right now. All these people have been discussing amongst themselves about how to bring back accountability in the running of the game in the country. They will come back to me on February 26 and only then will I take a final decision on whether I will be contesting," Pawar said on Wednesday.

Pawar added, "It's certainly not about me as an individual. I've occupied the highest position in the International Cricket Council (ICC). So, it's not from that angle that I'm eager to take this position again. I just want to ensure that the game of cricket doesn't suffer any more," said Pawar over telephone.

Pawar, who was president of BCCI from 2005 to 2008, said that the present state of affairs in the board is worrisome.

"The work culture of BCCI has to be maintained and there should not be any kind of groupism within the board. We don't want any kind of infighting within the players or the coaches and that's what our thinking is," he added.dna has reliably learnt that Pawar has been assured of support from the top brass of the ruling BJP government.

BJP controls at least nine votes — Himachal, Gujarat, Delhi, Jharkhand, Andhra and Baroda, apart from three government houses of Railways, University and Services — and it would play a vital role in the BCCI elections. Pawar refused to comment on this issue and focussed on India's role in world cricket.

"India's role is very important for the world cricket. In ICC, India is a major player and in the coming days we, along with Australia and England, have to take the game forward. It's our collective responsibility to ensure that credibility of cricket, which has taken a beating in recent months, be restored. Our stature at the international level is high and should not suffer because of any controversy," said Pawar.

During the 20-month-long trial in the Supreme Court, Srinivasan had pleaded that it was under Pawar's tenure that rule 6.2.4 was amended. The change gave rise to the conflict of interest issue and was subsequently struck down by the Court.

Pawar said that Srinivasan had not got in touch with him over the issue. "I never got any call from anyone," he said.

Pawar reached out to all the cricketing-playing nations, who have been complaining about India's domination after recent reorganisation of ICC. "We want cordial relations with all cricket nations. India has to take lead in spreading the game of cricket."