N Srinivasan to contest BCCI polls

Srinivasan made it clear that he would contest for the top job at BCCI elections on September 29.

N Srinivasan made it clear that he would contest for the top job at the Board of Control for Cricket in India8217;s BCCI elections on September 29 in Chennai,despite a few members being opposed to the idea. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association8217;s president stepped aside in June as the BCCI chief and let former president Jagmohan Dalmiya take over the day-to-day work. However,Srinivasan chaired the meeting of the disciplinary committee held in Delhi earlier this month.

On the sidelines of the board8217;s marketing committee meeting,Srinivasan is said to have told board members that he has the full backing of the associations from the south. As per the Board8217;s regulations,it8217;s the turn of south zone to propose and second the name of the president for the third year but the candidate they support can be from outside that zone.

A member in the BCCI,who attended the meeting,said Srinivasan has backing of Karnataka,Tamil Nadu,Kerala,Hyderabad and Andhra Cricket Association,which would ease his passage back into the administrative fold.

As per the BCCI rules,any candidate contesting election needs to have a proposer and a seconder from his zone. In south zone8217;s case if Srinivasan has got undertakings of support from five associations,then he will automatically be reinstated, a source said.

Though Srinivasan is said to have the support of most of the associations from the south,there are a few dissenting voices. A top Goa Cricket Association GCA official said the body was against Srinivasan8217;s come back. I8217;m still hopeful that some opposition against Srinivasan will develop over a period of time. I also believe that the Andhra Cricket Association ACA,too,will vote against the incumbent if there8217;s a viable opposition and it has the adequate number to bring in a change. But if there8217;s no opposition against Srinivasan then we will have no option but to go with the tide. The BCCI has the power to reward. It also has the power to damage. So we want to keep our cards close, the GCA office bearer said. The Karnataka State Cricket Association KSCA secretary Javagal Srinath too said they were undecided.

Search for title sponsor

In the absence of Farooq Abdulla,chairman of marketing committee,Srinivasan chaired the convention,which invited tenders for the title sponsorship rights for BCCI8217;s international and domestic matches for the period between October 2013 and 31st March 2014. Bharti Airtel,the previous title sponsor,did not wish to renew the contract.

The BCCI has fixed the base price for the bid as Rs 2 crore per match with the bidders given an option of forming a consutium. Bidders can also bid for sepcific series and if interested than they can renew their contract till 2018. The marketing committee has decided that they are ready to give rights of buying three formats to separate corporates if they bid the highest price.

With inputs from PTI