MCA chief Sharad Pawar set to attend BCCI's Nov 20 AGM

Former president of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Sharad Pawar is set to attend the much-awaited Annual General Meeting of the Indian board

Former president of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Sharad Pawar is set to attend the much-awaited Annual General Meeting of the Indian board.

Sharad Pawar

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) chief told his Managing Committee members in a meeting yesterday that he will be in Chennai for the November 20 meeting.

Although Pawar had made it clear that he has no plans to return to the BCCI fold after being re-elected as the MCA president last year, the veteran politician’s change of heart may give the ruling N Srinivasan camp the jitters.

Srinivasan is seeking another term as BCCI chief, but his bid relies heavily on the outcome of the Justice Mudgal Committee IPL probe report which will be up for hearing on Monday in the Supreme Court. Srinivasan was asked to step aside as BCCI chief by the apex court till the inquiry in the IPL-6 fixing and betting probe was completed.

It is unclear whether Pawar is going to contest the BCCI elections, but sources close to the NCP chief are confident that he is keen to contest. “Otherwise, why will he attend the Board’s AGM?” he asked. “He has all the time in the world now with his party not being in the Centre or State,” said the source. MCA Joint Honorary Secretary Dr PV Shetty confirmed Pawar will attend BCCI’s AGM.

Tendulkar’s idea approved
Meanwhile, the MCA yesterday accepted legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s 15-player-a-side idea. The batting maestro had to approach Pawar for approval after the MCA’s technical committee rejected his plan. The proposal was passed after much deliberation as some members felt it is important to get the BCCI’s nod.

During Tendulkar’s felicitation function at the Bandra Kurla Complex last December, the record-breaking batsman had shared his idea of 15 players getting a chance to bat instead of only 11. He wanted to see it being implemented at inter-school and inter-collegiate levels.

The MCA plans to introduce the new system at the inter-school level. “We will write to the MSSA (Mumbai Schools Sports Association) to formulate a plan because they are the ones who organise the tournament,” said Shetty.

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