Jagmohan Dalmiya returns as BCCI president

Perth, Australia: Jagmohan Dalmiya, the man who ruled Indian cricket for more than a decade in the 1990s and went on to become the head of the International Cricket Council (ICC) from 1997 to 2000, was on Monday elected President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), replacing N. Srinivasan, who was forced to step down following a corruption scandal.

Dalmiya, 74, who represents the Cricket Association of Bengal, was a consensus candidate as rival factions supported him for the post. Dalmiya was previously ousted in 2005 even though he had turned the game into a lucrative global sport.

The Supreme Court had barred Srinivasan from standing as a candidate, so it was with Srinivasan’s support that Dalmiya won the post, with a majority of other top roles also going to Srinivasan supporters.

But the other group in the BCCI power struggle, led by Sharad Pawar, feels they have registered a tactical victory, contending that Srinivasan’s group would find Dalmiya hard to manipulate.

Pawar’s group won the secretary’s role, with Anurag Thakur, the former joint-secretary, replacing Sanjay Patel after winning the election by a single vote (15-14).

Meanwhile, Kerala Cricket Association’s T.C. Matthews was elected as one of the five vice-presidents, while Srinivasan supporters Amitabh Chaudhary (Jharkhand) and Anirudh Chaudhary (Haryana) were elected joint-secretary and treasurer respectively.

Amitabh had to fight a close battle against Chetan Desai and won only because of chairman Shivlal Yadav’s casting vote. Anirudh ousted Rajeev Shukla, who was a BCCI vice-president, from the central zone.