Pawar has power to appoint another chief

Even as suspense looms over whether Dilip Vengsarkar will be attending the selection committee...

Even as suspense looms over whether Dilip Vengsarkar will be attending the selection committee meeting on December 5 in Bangalore, the BCCI is not losing any sleep over it. The Board is of the view that in case Vengsarkar reaches Bangalore it will mean he has agreed to the selectors’ code of conduct.

In case Vengsarkar fails to reach Bangalore for the meeting, the Board says it will effectively mean he’s resigned from his post.

BCCI joint secretary MP Pandove explained, that in such a scenario the BCCI president, as per the constitution, will hold the powers to appoint a new chief selector. The Board’s general body will not be meeting in this regard, should Vengsarkar fail to turn up.

However, a senior Board official says, “one phone call can change everything.” If Sharad Pawar (BCCI chief) personally manages to convince Vengsarkar that he will be appropriately reimbursed, things will be back to normal, says the official. In case this doesn’t happen, the Board will then appoint an interim selection committee chairman till the completion of Vengsarkar’s term, i.e. September 2008.

Borde is not willing to make any comments as far as accepting the role is concerned. “I have done the job in the past. However, I cannot speak on the current issue till the Board gets in touch with me,” says Borde.

Gaekwad, another man partly in the picture, says: “Whatever the differences between the Board and Vengsarkar, all of it should be kept aside until the team for the Australia tour is named.”