The latest scandal in the IPl has hit the BCCI top brass so hard that the state units have now started questioning N Srinivasan's authority and in all likelihood will seek opinion of former BCCI president Shashank Manohar on the latest fiasco.
According to top BCCI officials, Manohar's advice on the way forward and his opinion on Srinivasan's "future" as the BCCI supremo will carry a lot of weight in the coming days.
"Some of the state units are already in touch with each other and we want to speak to Mr Manohar on this issue. He has been BCCI's most trusted 'go-to' man as well as trouble shooter. Although his opinion is neither binding nor final, but it does carry a lot of weight among BCCI's affiliated units," a member of the BCCI working committee said on Friday.
When asked about the reasons for discussing with Manohar, the official said, "Manohar has a very clean image as the BCCI president. On a personal level, his honesty and integrity along with fairness in decision making has always been respected by the BCCI officials. Also he is the man who has always backed Srinivasan through thick and thin."
"Even Jagmohan Dalmiya was ousted from BCCI on charges of corruption, ditto with lalit Modi. Why should Srinivasan be an exceptionIJ" the official questioned.
Manohar has also helped out BCCI with legal inputs when they decided to terminate Kochi Tuskers Kerala's contract for non-payment of franchisee fees. He also was one of the mediators when Sahara threatened to pull-out before the IPl V after not being allowed to field an extra foreign player.
When a BCCI official from a northern Indian unit was asked whether there is a chance of Srinivasan tendering his resignation, he said. "He won't tender at the moment, unless things get worse from here. Come September (BCCI AGM), you never know what happens."
Modi calls for cancellation of CSK's contract
Former IPl chairman lalit Modi on Friday demanded that CSK's contract should be "cancelled" immediately and fresh auctions should be held in the wake of franchise owner Gurunath Meiyappan's name cropping up in the spot-fixing scandal.
"If a owner of an IPl team is engaged in betting, the contract clearly states that there is a suo moto right to cancel the agreement of the team and that should be done right away," he said on Times Now. "They (CSK) should not exist, contract should be cancelled and new auctions should be held for the franchise."
Modi questioned BCCI president N Srinivasan's conflict of interest in the game and said that Meiyappan is very much an owner of the team unlike what Indian Cements, owner of CSK, claim. "When I was IPl chairman passes were issued only after team owners gave us the names and after all documentation," he said.
"I have been repeatedly saying this but nobody took a stand. There is a clear conflict of interest and that's why Srinivasan is not being able to take a strong action," former BCCI president A C Muttiah said.