Unimaginable it may seem, but India has gone without a representation at the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in Pakistan.
Eager to avoid court strictures, Indian cricket board officials skipped the two-day meeting that concluded in Lahore on Sunday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was to have been represented by Jagmohan Dalmiya, but he cancelled his trip to avoid legal hassles.
The BCCI is mired in a legal wrangle following the September 29 election of its office-bearers which was challenged in court by the defeated faction.
The Supreme Court, which is hearing the case, has indicated that it could order fresh elections. The interim ruling doesn't make it clear who is administrating the board—outgoing president Dalmiya or the president-elect Ranbir Singh Mahendra.
Moreover, the Supreme Court has stayed the nomination of Dalmiya, who finished his maximum term as president, as the patron-in-chief of the BCCI.
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BCCI members had chosen Dalmiya for the post so that they could use his negotiating skills while representing India at the ICC.
According to a top BCCI source, board lawyers advised Dalmiya against attending the ICC meeting because there was a chance it could tantamount to contempt of court. Also, the opposition faction could capitalise on such a move.
The Supreme Court would hear the case again on October 26. The BCCI's extended annual general meeting was to have ratified Dalmiya's appointment to the new post that day, but now the conclave is unlikely to be held.
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