Calcutta: A move to sideline Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) chief executive Duleep Mendis appears to be gaining momentum with the new chairman, Somachandra de Silva, reportedly “keen” on appointing an additional chief executive.

“Mendis and the chairman (one-time teammates) just don’t see eye to eye... So, either he accepts being marginalised or puts in his papers... Mendis doesn’t have support in the recently-constituted interim committee either,” a well-placed source told The Telegraph from Colombo.

His contract, though, is till the end of the year.

According to the source, former manager Ajit Jayasekara, who has retired from the air force, is being “considered” for the additional chief executive’s post.

Incidentally, SLC has a secretary as well — Nishantha Ranatunga, younger brother of Arjuna, Somachandra’s predecessor. So, it already is top-heavy…

The source added: “Things are so bad for Mendis that there’s a move even to transfer his secretary (a lady), on whom he has been dependent... That may happen next week and, to say the least, would be humiliating for him…”

A one-time captain and chief selector, Mendis has been close to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) brass and, so, it will be interesting how the region’s Big Brother reacts if he’s pushed into an even more difficult corner.

The BCCI has, over the years, seen Mendis as somebody who could be “trusted” and won’t be happy if he’s made to pack his bags from 35 Maitland Place in Colombo, where SLC is headquartered.

So far, Mendis has had the backing of sports minister Gamini Lokuge, but it’s not clear whether he’ll intervene if Somachandra (hand-picked by President Mahinda Rajapakse) goes ahead and sidelines him completely.

The BCCI will, over the next few weeks, obviously be a very keen watcher.