Not interested in BCCI post: Pawar

Former BCCI chief Sharad Pawar, who has returned as president of the Mumbai Cricket Association, on Saturday said he is not eyeing the top post of the BCCI which he had headed from 2005-06 to 2007-08.

“I don’t have time to go to BCCI as I don’t have time for any responsibility. I might go for meetings but I don’t have time to take up any responsibility,” the Union Agriculture Minister told reporters after MCA’s AGM here.

Pawar and current BCCI president N Srinivasan, who had worked as a treasurer under him, are no longer considered to be close and there was speculation that the former had plans to come back to the Board’s top post when he decided to contest the MCA polls.

On his second innings with MCA, Pawar said, “I am absolutely concerned about taking views of each of every club. You see, there are three panels (that contested the biennial polls) and I will get everyone together.”

Asked about BCCI General Manager (Game Development) professor Ratnakar Shetty and MCA vice-president Ravi Savant being at loggerheads, Pawar said, “These two members were working with me for 10 years. They are very committed to cricket. They are honest. Their integrity is above all. The only question was how to handle them. Now that I am back, I will handle them.”

Pawar also said MCA has formed a committee comprising himself as head, Shripad Halbe, Prof Shetty, Milind Rege and Vinod Deshpande for the felicitation of batting great Sachin Tendulkar who will retire after playing his 200th Test against the West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium here from November 14-18.

“We have appointed a committee which will meet on 21st and make a plan for grand felicitation for Sachin,” he said.

On his plans to improve the sport, he said, “When I was president of MCA for 10 years, MCA had an old Wankhede stadium and nothing else. In the 10 years we had a lot of changes.”