Will BCCI president N Srinivasan buckle to survive?
N Srinivasan is known to work in a certain style. He likes to have the final say in all things. But after last week’s developments, the equations in the Indian cricket board have changed dramatically. HT reports.
N Srinivasan is known to work in a certain style. He likes to have the final say in all things. After last week’s developments, the equations in the Indian cricket board have changed dramatically.
The board president doesn’t wield the same authority anymore. Till now, even the senior office bearers are said to find it difficult to get in direct touch with him and have sometimes passed their message through his second-in-command.
Naturally, with his own position under scrutiny, he will have to be more accommodating. It remains to be seen whether he can change his style for the sake of survival or choose to bow out.
The odds are against him continuing beyond September. The grapevine is he is not the one to compromise and will leave on his own.
The stubborn resistance he is offering is a face-saving exercise. He doesn’t want to be seen as being forced out.
‘Stubborn front’
“He’s putting up a stubborn front but internally, it’s obvious. This controversy is affecting him. His whole family life is affected. It’s natural that he will mellow down,” a senior board member, who was in Kolkata said.
Srinivasan is too shrewd not to understand the undercurrent and make out that the support is slipping. The defiant stand is based on the power that the BCCI's constitution bestows on its president.
It is the reason why the members didn't take a stand when they met in Kolkata on the sidelines of the T20 league final.
While the disgruntlement among them was palpable, managing a 75% majority, which is needed in a special general body meeting to overthrow a president, was not possible in the current set-up.
Despite his eroding credibility, Srinivasan continues to enjoy solid support among some of the smaller state units, which he has cultivated by going out of the way to dole out favours to them.
The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association chief knew he could always bank on their support during a crisis.
Mute spectators
The other reason that everyone remained mute spectators in Kolkata was that no one took the responsibility of belling the cat.
"Most of the representatives believed he should step down on moral grounds. But, no one voiced their opinion, because no one took the lead to garner support on the issue," a senior member of a South Zone association present in Kolkata told HT.
Srinivasan has managed to tide over the current crisis, but he is not completely out of choppy waters. The equation could change in the next couple of days if there are new revelations in the scandal.
In all probability, Srinivasan is unlikely to seek an extension of his two-year tenure which ends in September.