Members in the dark as Sridhar appointed as GM (cricket ops) of BCCI

Questions crop up over the appointment of former Hyderabad captain M V Sridhar

Questions have cropped up over the appointment of former Hyderabad captain M V Sridhar as the General Manager (Cricket Operations) of the BCCI at its Annual General Meeting in Chennai yesterday.

47-year-old Sridhar, who has played 97 first-class matches for Hyderabad and South Zone, was a surprise inclusion in the BCCI set-up that raised several eyebrows.

Sridhar is the Secretary of the Hyderabad Cricket Association.

"We didn't know that his designation is that of GM (Cricket Operations). That he was on board was intimated by the president on the floor of the meeting yesterday," a senior BCCI office-bearer told PTI today.

"The president (Srinivasan) didn't give any explanation as to why and in what capacity Sridhar is being appointed. We were just told that Sridhar will be operating from the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai," an official, who was removed yesterday, said.

There are two school of thoughts among BCCI members about Sridhar's appointment. The anti-Srinivasan faction, although significantly less in number, is suggesting that Sridhar was "rewarded" by Srinivasan since he was one of the proposers in the nomination form submitted by the Chennai strongman.

But one of the current senior office-bearers rubbished that allegation.

"Those who are saying that Sridhar has been rewarded should check their facts. Srinivasan's nomination form has eight names (four sets of proposers and seconders). He needed only one proposer and one seconder. Srini got eight names simply to show that he is in total control. So the theory of Sridhar being rewarded doesn't hold ground," he said.

The designation however is a clear indication that Mumbai man Ratnakar Shetty, who has enjoyed a lot of clout and say in the apex cricket body, may have his powers curbed.

Shetty is General Manager(Game Development) and will likely report to Sridhar.

The popular belief is that Shetty has long been perceived as a Sharad Pawar-loyalist and is also a bitter enemy of current MCA president and BCCI vice-president Ravi Savant.

Under the stewardship of Savant, MCA had banned Shetty on grounds of wrongful allegations on its members. The decision was later reversed and Shetty has filed his nomination from Bombay Union Sports Club for the MCA elections scheduled on October 18.

While calls and texts to Sridhar went unanswered, none in the BCCI was willing to comment on the development.