IMG sacking kicks up a storm within BCCI

Late on Monday night,there was talk that former BCCI president and ICC president-elect Sharad Pawar,too,had voiced his opinion on the issue. But those at the helm of affairs in the Indian cricket board say that this was not a unilateral move by the BCCI secretary Srinivasan,but a decision taken by the whole working committee. “This isn’t the case of one individual deciding to end IMG’s contract. It was a collective decision arrived at after a debate,” a top board official said.

Many insiders felt the letters sent by IPL stakeholders was because of a struggle within the BCCI to control the cash-rich league. Though the BCCI has remained tight-lipped on the issue,sources within the organisation are saying that a divide is rapidly becoming apparent.

Just a few months ago,during the opening ceremony of IPL Season 2,the IPL commissioner Lalit Modi had profusely thanked IMG for their role in helping the tournament move to South Africa. “The IMG team,led by my good friend Andrew Wildblood and his indomitable colleague Peter Griffiths,has been with us on the IPL journey from its inception and I knew when we arrived in South Africa just 25 days ago that if one company could succeed in the unchartered logistical challenge of organising an event of this scale at less than four weeks notice,it was IMG,” Modi had said at Newlands on April 18.

But on August 28,Srinivasan’s letter to Wildblood informed that the amount asked by IMG was disproportionate to the services rendered during the IPL Season 2.

Meanwhile,sources said that IMG had replied to Srinivasan’s letter,saying that the BCCI had gone back on its word regarding the details of the contract. One report also suggested that IMG was planning legal action against the board. No senior official from the company,however,was immediately available for comments.