Calcutta: Twenty-eight months after Ajay Shirke resigned as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)'s treasurer, hoping his act would compel Narayanswami Srinivasan to step down as the president, he's played a leading hand in probably finishing off the Tamil Nadu strongman for good.

On Saturday, Shirke spoke to The Telegraph for around 20 minutes, being absolutely candid about the dramatic developments over the last few days.

Shirke heads the Maharashtra Cricket Association.

Excerpts...

Q When did this process of checkmating Srinivasan begin in earnest?

A After news came that Srinivasan had flown to Nagpur for a one-on-one with Mr (Sharad) Pawar. That was on Wednesday night.

What followed?

On Thursday, Shashank Manohar and I went to meet Mr (Arun) Jaitley at his residence in New Delhi, where the BCCI secretary, Anurag Thakur, was also present.

Did Jaitley call Manohar and you to the capital?

I won't get into who called whom, that's not important. Bottom line is that all of us met at Mr Jaitley's residence. The meeting went on for a substantial length of time.

How long, specifically?

For a substantial period.

Well, what transpired?

There was a suggestion that Shashank make himself available for the BCCI president's post. If that happened, he'd get the support of Anurag and the others.

The BJP's votes, in other words...

Yes.

How was Pawar convinced that he must step aside and allow Manohar to be the joint candidate of his and Thakur's groups? Did you convince him?

I certainly didn't convince Mr Pawar... I'm too young to even attempt something like that. Not when it's Mr Pawar we're talking about.

So, what did you tell Pawar?

Just placed the facts (over the phone) and he asked me to meet him in Mumbai, on Friday. I did, that's it. At our meeting, he said he would get back to me. I returned home to Pune.

Then?

At night, Mr Pawar told me that, in the larger interest of cricket and in the interest of the group, he would have no problems with Shashank's candidature. He'd back him.

When exactly did Pawar speak to you?

Around 11.15-11.30 pm, some two hours after I'd spoken to you.

So, credit to Pawar for maintaining the unity of the group...

Absolutely. Mr Pawar acted like a statesman and ensured that we stayed together in this fight of ours.

Fight against Srinivasan?

Our fight has been on principles, not for positions. Please don't, for a moment, think that we began this fight in May 2013 (days after Gurunath Meiyappan's arrest) only to displace X or Y and to take his position. We've fought on principles. Fought on issues.

By resigning as the BCCI's treasurer, you showed that holding an office meant little to you... That's rare in public life in India...

I resigned because I felt strongly about certain issues. In fact, I've let it be known that if the group wants to oblige somebody, I'd be only too happy to vacate my seat on the IPL's governing council... Let somebody else be there.

Had Pawar not relented, then his group would have split, right?

As I've said, Mr Pawar acted like a statesman and kept everybody together. Only he could do it. Hats off to Mr Pawar... It's a fact that questions were being asked within the group, basically on the so-called deal between Mr Pawar and Srinivasan... I repeat, so-called... People wanted to know how could there be a compromise with somebody we'd been fighting against, fighting on principles.

Was a deal actually struck?

I wasn't there... Hundreds of people come to Mr Pawar every single day, Srinivasan was one of them.

But there must have been something, otherwise how did Srinivasan tell some members of his group (in Bangalore, on Thursday) that his trip to Nagpur had been fruitful?

Where are the fruits? Anybody can say anything, the proof of any pudding is in the eating, isn't it? We all know very few travelled to Bangalore.

Were you aware that Pawar would be meeting Srinivasan?

I wasn't. But, then, I'm not supposed to know about his meetings. Mr Pawar is such a senior person... Why would I be informed in advance?

Surely, now, Srinivasan won't be able to continue as the BCCI's nominee for the International Cricket Council's chairmanship...

Why speculate? One thing at a time... First allow the next president to take office and for him and Thakur, who has been doing a wonderful job as the BCCI secretary, to settle down as a team... Let them decide.

With Thakur and the BJP supporting Pawar's group, Manohar should be back as president unanimously. Isn't that a given?

Should, yes, but we aren't going to be complacent.

The last one... Why are you all still on guard?

(Laughs) Because Srinivasan is now like a wounded tiger and a wounded tiger could become very desperate. Our work isn't over. Indeed, it has just begun. Right now, only the leadership issue has been addressed.