The Annual General Meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India was formally concluded on Thursday, with the new set of office-bearers, headed by Ranbir Singh Mahendra, taking charge.
However, uncertainty prevailed over who should represent the Board at International Cricket Council and other international fora.
The AGM, which was reconvened on Thursday morning following a Supreme Court directive, concluded in no time, with outgoing president Jagmohan Dalmiya saying the two pending items on the agenda could not be transacted in view of a restraint order by the court on September 28.
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Since all other items on the agenda had already been transacted in the meeting on September 29 and 30, the 75th AGM of the Board was therefore terminated and the newly-elected office-bearers took over with immediate effect, Dalmiya said.
The controversy-ridden AGM was adjourned without transacting two of the items on the agenda relating to the appointment of Dalmiya as Patron-in-Chief and BCCI's representative at the ICC and other international bodies.
A piquant situation arose after the adjournment as, according to the BCCI constitution, the office-bearers cannot take charge till the AGM is concluded.
Today's meeting, held as per the Supreme Court's order on January 10, thus cleared the deck for Mahendra and the other office-bearers, elected in a bitter contest against the group led by Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar on September 29, to discharge their duties formally.
However, the question of BCCI's representation at the ICC remained unresolved.
Asked whether the meeting discussed the issue of BCCI's representation at the ICC and other international fora, Dalmiya said that matter "remained unresolved".
To a specific query about who would represent the BCCI at the international level from today, he replied, "I have no answer."
Dalmiya had been appointed as Patron-in-Chief and also BCCI representative at the ICC and other international fora by a Special General Meeting of the Board, at Chennai on September 12, but the matter needed to be confirmed by the AGM.
The AGM could not take up these items due to a stay order by a Chennai court thus creating a deadlock situation.
Dalmiya's appointment was challenged by Bharati Cricket Club of Chennai and the matter is now pending before the Madras high court.
Meanwhile, BCCI secretary S K Nair later told newspersons that he would represent the Board at the ICC CEO's meeting in Melbourne from February 2.
"This particular meeting does not pose any problem for us because it is the meeting of CEOs, and I am the CEO of BCCI," Nair said, adding "the problem will be there for ICC meetings like its AGM."
Briefing the media on the deliberations at the reconvened AGM, Dalmiya sarcastically said that all the court cases relating to the BCCI are being filed from one place, Chennai.
"This I feel is very significant.
"First there was the Netaji Cricket club, then the Bharti Cricket Club, and now the Sri Thyagaraya Cricket Club, which went to court getting one stay after another. These are not our affiliate units and we don't know much about them," Dalmiya said.
Dalmiya said cricket has been the sufferer due to the plethora of recent court cases.
"But now, we are becoming accustomed to all this. It's a part of democracy."
To a query whether from today he will have nothing to do with the BCCI's affairs, he said, "How I can say that? I am a former president, a number of former presidents are still active in the Board's affairs."
On the absence of Mahendra, who is busy electioneering as a candidate in the coming Haryana Assembly polls, Dalmiya said, "He informed me well in advance that he will not be able to make it. Consequently, I have handed him charge after the AGM through correspondence."
Due to Mahendra's inability to be present at the meeting, the Haryana Cricket Association was represented by its president, Arvind Chowdhury.
Besides Dalmiya, secretary S K Nair, treasurer Jyoti Bajpai, vice-president Rajiv Shukla and joint-secretary Gautam Dasgupta were present at the meeting.
