Is BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya being sidelined in the board?

BCCI’s decision to appoint ad-hoc committees for running the cricketing affairs of Bihar and Uttarakhand, two states where associations have not been recognised by the board - has reportedly been taken without the full consent of president Jagmohan Dalmiya.

According to a report published in DNA , the officials named in the two committees are different from those BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur discussed informally with the president.

The story gives further credence to the idea that Anurag Thakur is running the show in the BCCI, especially with constant reports of Dalmiya’s ill-health doing the rounds.

Former secretary Niranjan Shah was appointed to chair the Bihar committee, assisted by Goa Cricket Association secretary Vinod Phadke, Tripura Cricket Association secretary Sourav Dasgupta, Gujarat Cricket Association executive member Bharat Zaveri, and BCCI game co-ordinator Ratnakar Shetty.

The Uttarakhand association will be run by BCCI treasurer and joint secretary M.P. Pandove, and assisted by Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association secretary Vishal Marwaha, Cricket Association of Bengal secretary Subir Ganguly, Maharashtra Cricket Association vice president Vinod Shah and BCCI manager for game development K.V.P. Rao.

The murmurs about Dalmiya being sidelined from the board affairs have been gaining voice recently, with people in the board believed to be asking for his resignation.

“Technically, Anurag (Thakur) is working both as president and secretary in BCCI at the moment,” a senior BCCI official had told The Indian Express in July. “An institution like the BCCI needs someone who is completely fit. We all know what Dalmiya has done for Indian cricket, but looking at his health, we all feel he should step down. The BCCI will be hosting the ICC T20 World Cup next year and there are many more important decisions to be taken in the months to come.”

Even the Justice Lodha Committee had questioned Dalmiya’s abilities to run the board. “If this is the physical and mental condition of the BCCI president at present, did those who elected him three months not know about this? If the physical and mental condition of the president has deteriorated so much in recent times, then who is running the affairs of the richest cricket body?” the panel was quoted as saying in June.

The DNA report also pointed out that ad-hoc committees were appointed without the convening of the BCCI’s working committee, as required by the board’s constitution. While Dalmiya did issue a statement calling for reforms in these two states, Thakur, it now seems, was the sole decision-maker in appointing the members.

Ever since Cricket Association of Bihar’s secretary Aditya Verma filed a PIL in the apex court calling for reforms in BCCI among other things, BCCI’s reputation has taken a repeated hit. Dalmiya’s appointment which was seen as a move to appease both the Srinivasan camp and Sharad Pawar camp, is now being continuously debated as he stays away from most of the public interactions involving the board. From the advisory panel, the IPL working group or team selection press meets, it is Thakur who is being projected as the face of BCCI.

“We work very closely; we take most of the decisions together,” Thakur told ESPNCricinfo in a recent interview . “Let me just say, there are many rumours in the air, but the facts are different. We have a person like Mr. Dalmiya, who has a long experience in cricket administration. Him being the president of the board is helping me as well as BCCI to implement certain things on day-to-day basis.”