Almost decade later, Jagmohan Dalmiya returns as boss of Indian cricket

There was, however, a twist earlier Sunday as Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association and current BCCI joint secretary Anurag Thakur jumped into the contest after Srinivasan was said to have offered two East Zone supporters as proposer and seconder.

It is learnt Pawar spoke to BJP president Amit Shah, who was in Jammu and Kashmir for the swearing-in of the government there, and asked him to speak to Thakur, a BJP MP, who then changed his mind.

The Kolkata businessman, an old BCCI hand, knew he was home because he had all of East Zone’s support — it is the East Zone’s turn to propose the nomination of the president.

Formerly a president of the ICC from 1997, Dalmiya had looked after day-to-day affairs of the board after the IPL spot-fixing scandal two seasons ago.

The 70-year-old has been an important figure in Indian cricket for more than three decades now. He was the front-runner for the post since it was East Zone’s turn to appoint a successor to the embattled N Srinivasan. With the Supreme Court barring Srinivasan from contesting elections till a probe is over, East Zone has looked to Dalmiya since he is considered a neutral figure in the stand-off, one who has the support of both factions.

Sources said Pawar wanted someone who is not close to Srinivasan, and also has credibility. Though keen on running himself, Pawar was finding it tough to get the two voters who could propose and second his name for the candidature. For Dalmiya, it was a cakewalk.

Meanwhile, the board is all set to hold elections for other office-bearer posts where the two groups of Pawar camp and Srinivasan will be in head-to-head contests for the posts of secretary, treasurer, joint-secretary and the five vice-presidents.

The BCCI has 30 board members eligible to vote. But this year, the board has suspended Rajasthan Cricket Association after former IPL chief Lalit Modi contested the election and went on to win.

Anurag Thakur has filled his nomination as Pawar’s candidate for secretary’s post. He will take on incumbent BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel, who is a Srinivasan loyalist. Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association’s Rajeev Shukla will take on Haryana Cricket Association’s Anirudh Chaudhary for the treasurer’s post. Goa’s Chetan Desai will take on Amitabh Chaudhary (Jharkhand Cricket Association) for the post of joint secretary.

The Pawar group has nominated two vice-president candidates, Ravi Savant (West), and Jyotiraditya Scindia (Central), whereas the Srinivasan group has nominated G Gangaraju (South), T C Mathew (West), C K Khanna (Central), Gautam Roy (East) and M L Nehru (North).