Sunil Gavaskar,Sourav Ganguly

Mumbai: Sunil Gavaskar has severed his non-commercial ties with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He has stepped down as the technical committee chairman and will be succeeded by Sourav Ganguly, another former captain.

Now, Gavaskar’s only association with the BCCI is through a TV commentary-related contract for all international matches in India, the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the CLT20.

Till rather late on Monday, Sourav’s acceptance was awaited by Narayanswamy Srinivasan, the BCCI’s new president. Sourav couldn’t be contacted as he was on a London-Dubai flight on the way home after media assignments in England.

There’s no reason for Sourav not to accept his elevation.

According to a source of The Telegraph, Shashank Manohar, who chaired his last AGM, merely told the house that Sourav would be the next chairman. Apparently, Gavaskar wasn’t mentioned by name at all.

Very strange, if that was so.

It was during the media conference, at the Cricket Centre here, that Srinivasan revealed Gavaskar had “written a nice letter,” stating that somebody else take over.

Gavaskar has been upset with the BCCI for not honouring an IPL-specific “verbal commitment” running into crores, made (in October 2007) by former president Sharad Pawar and Lalit Kumar Modi, who has been removed from all positions.

The BCCI’s stand is that nothing exists on paper. That commitments made on a personal level have to be honoured by the individuals concerned.

Srinivasan, meanwhile, made three points: (a) that the BCCI will henceforth oppose even the limited use of the DRS; (b) that there were no plans to review India’s disgraceful performance in England and (c) that too much cricket wasn’t a factor for a disastrous two months.

The president argued that all cricketers didn’t play in all three forms.

Intriguingly, while Srinivasan ruled out a review, secretary Sanjay Jagdale said: “Let’s see... We’ll have to first talk... Dekhen kya hota hai.”

It’s shocking that former India captain Gundappa Viswanath got sacrificed in the intra-BCCI politicking and his name got dropped from the reconstituted governing council of the IPL.

“(Mohinder) Pandove had to be given a suitable berth and Vishy lost out in a last-minute adjustment,” somebody very senior in the BCCI said somewhat apologetically.

Pandove is in the former players’ category, keeping Ravi Shastri company. He was hoping to be the next secretary, but was overlooked because of the Punjab Cricket Association’s old ties with Modi.

Jharkhand’s Amitabh Choudhary has found a place in the governing council, so expect him to pitch for some IPL matches in Ranchi.

Ranjib Biswal (Orissa), who didn’t exactly lobby for the secretary’s post and got done in by colleagues in his own zone, has been made vice-chairman of the National Cricket Academy’s board.

Barring Yashpal Sharma, who has been replaced by Mohinder ‘Jimmy’ Amarnath, the senior selection committee has been unchanged. Assam, though, made a last-ditch effort to get East’s Raja Venkat removed. It proved futile.

Assignment No.1 for Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Co. would be picking the Rest squad, possibly on Friday.

The associations, one learns, each stand to receive around Rs 17 crore from the IPL and a shade over Rs 8 crore from the TV rights for international matches. Venues which stage Tests and/or ODIs will get an additional sum.

Gone are the days when the BCCI didn’t have the finances to suitably honour the 1983 World Cup heroes. Little wonder, then, that everybody wants to have something to do with it.