Looks like a fixed match, lambasts Lele

Cricket Spot-fixing tangle: Former BCCI secretary hits out at interim arrangements

Former BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele on Sunday equated the happenings at the BCCI’s Emergent Working Committee meeting in Chennai to match-fixing in itself and termed the process of appointing Jagmohan Dalmiya as head of a four-member interim arrangement as “unconstitutional”.

“I am absolutely disappointed at what happened today. What’s the difference between this and match-fixing? First of all, the whole thing is unconstitutional as the working committee cannot appoint anyone,” the outspoken Lele told PTI from Vadodara.

After an acrimonious meeting convened at less than the required 72 hours’ notice, N Srinivasan on Sunday agreed to “step aside” as BCCI president under a compromise formula that brought back former chief Dalmiya as head of a four-member “interim arrangement” to run the Board, more than a fortnight after the spot-fixing scandal rocked cricketing world. “Everything was unconstitutional. Srinivasan has not resigned, so where is the question of Jagmohan Dalmiya being appointed as interim president,” queried Lele.

“Whatever has happened is all nonsense. Good luck to the Cricket Board,” Lele concluded in disgust.

Dalmiya will appoint a new member on the three-member inquiry commission in place of Sanjay Jagdale that will go into the allegations of betting and spot-fixing against Srinivasan’s son-in-law and CSK Team Principal Gurunath Meiyappan and his franchise CSK.

‘Biggest cover-up’

Former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi termed the entire episode in Chennai the “biggest cover-up in cricket” and said having Dalmiya as the head was not the solution.
“Biggest coverup in cricket has begun. N Srinivasan with co-conspirator Arun Jaitley and Rajeev Shukla,” Modi said.

“Mr (former president IS) Bindra was the Lone Ranger who asked for Srini’s Resignation. Mr Dalmia taking over us not a solution that anyone should accept,” Modi wrote on his twitter handle.

He further said the controversies surrounding Indian cricket at the moment was the biggest of them all.

“It is probably going to go down as the biggest one of them all. Cricket is a religion in our country. But hijacked by greedy men.

“As expected the Axis of Evil carefully planned strategy has worked. The poison is so deeply rooted and controlled by them God Save Cricket,” Modi said.