Sundar Raman exits BCCI: first wicket down in Shashank Manohar’s clean up job

As the BCCI clean-up drive begins in earnest, IPL COO Sundar Raman is the first wicket to fall.

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Sundar Raman resigned following a meeting with Shashank Manohar (in picture) in Nagpur. (Source: Express Photo by Kevin D’Souza)

To be honest, there’s no surprise in this departure. Once Shashank Manohar assumed charge as the BCCI president on October 4, Sundar Raman’s position as the IPL chief operating officer (COO) became untenable. In fact, it’s surprising that it took him almost a month to make up his mind and leave.

Raman resigned following a meeting with Manohar in Nagpur on Monday. He read the writing on the wall, for the cricket board was set to sack him at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on November 9.

Those who’ve seen him during various BCCI meetings will confirm that Raman was a hard worker. He kept daily data on all IPL matters, meticulously. So it was a little baffling that he didn’t inform the BCCI about his alleged communication (not less than eight times) with a person who was said to be a bookmaker. Raman denied the charges levelled against him in the Mudgal committee report, filing an affidavit before the Supreme Court where he said he didn’t know the real identity of his contact.

“I was recruited by the BCCI in 2008 and as part of my duties I had to interact with various officials, VIPs, bureaucrats and celebrities from all walks of life. Most of the interactions revolve around arranging and facilitating their attendance at matches and events connected to IPL. The Mudgal committee report doesn’t specifically say that I had knowledge that the person concerned was the contact of a bookie. The person concerned was also a celeb, a movie actor and also a TV star. As IPL COO, I had to deal with celebrities as part of my job. Celebs often call for tickets and invites to events – such bonafide interaction can’t be the basis of any misdemeanour on my part,” he contended.

The apex court, however, authorised the Lodha committee to investigate Raman’s alleged role in the 2013 IPL spot fixing and betting scandal. The latter is scheduled to appear before the commission on November 15 and whatever the final outcome, Raman might have made a more dignified exit had he put in his papers once he was named in the Mudgal committee report. It was expected of a PG degree holder in management who had been with the IPL since its inception in 2008. Raman refused to budge because he enjoyed N Srinivasan’s protection. With the former BCCI president eventually losing ground, Raman had to go.

“Raman should have gone immediately after the Mudgal committee report found him prima facie guilty of wrongdoings. He ought to have stepped down immediately at that time. Now, to restore the faith of people in IPL and the game, Raman needs to go,” Manohar had said in July.

The new BCCI president has asked for “two months” to put the house in order. And as the clean-up drive begins in earnest, Raman is the first wicket to fall.

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