Dalmiya returns as BCCI Prez, Anurag Thakur new Secretary

March 2, 2015

Dalmiya
Chennai, Mar 2: Veteran cricket administrator Jagmohan Dalmiya was today unanimously elected President of the BCCI but the N Srinivasan camp suffered a huge setback with rival faction's Anurag Thakur beating Sanjay Patel for the post of Secretary at the Board's Annual General Meeting here today.

Barring Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association chief Thakur's surprise win, ruling camp loyalists swept the elections for the other posts at the much-postponed AGM, where Srinivasan himself could not contest for the President's post owing to a Supreme Court directive.

Jharkhand Cricket Association's Amitabha Chodhary was elected the Joint Secretary beating Goa's Chetan Desai, belonging to the anti-Srinivasan faction, while Haryana's Anirudh Choudhary won the treasurer's position by defeating Rajiv Shukla.

While three vice-Presidents were elected unopposed, the two other positions also went to the Srinivasan faction with T C Mathews (Kerala, west zone) and C K Khanna (Delhi, central zone) winning the polls. Khanna defeated the influential Jyotiraditya Scindia, while Mathews edged past Ravi Sawant.

The three who were elected unopposed are Andhra's Gokaraju Gangaraju (south zone), Assam's Goutam Roy (east) with M L Nehru of Jammu and Kashmir representing the north zone.

The road for Dalmiya was cleared after Pawar failed to get a proposer from east zone, prompting the Maratha strongman to pull out of the race.

BJP leader Thakur, it is learnt, won by just one vote over Srinivasan loyalist Patel, a scenario unlikely to have emerged had there not been cross-voting during the election process.

However, the fact that other anti-Srinivasan camp candidates lost the elections proved that cross-voting took place only for Thakur.

The 70-year-old Dalmiya, President of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), was unanimously accepted by all the units loyal to Srinivasan to return to a position he held more than a decade back.

Dalmiya's bid got a boost after Pawar failed to get any proposer from the East Zone, whose turn it was to nominate the president. The former ICC President had held the top post in BCCI between 2001 and 2004.

All the six state units from the East Zone owed allegiance to the Srinivasan camp when his loyalists met here on Sunday.

Maratha strongman Pawar, who was projected as possible candidate for the president's post, had also met his supporters.

Dalmiya's elevation to the position was necessitated after Srinivasan was forced to stay away from the election owing to a Supreme Court directive, which reduced his role to merely voting.

In fact, the AGM itself was delayed several times due to the legal battle that Srinivasan is fighting in the top court.

The apex court is currently hearing the IPL spot-fixing scandal in which conflict of interest with regards to Srinivasan's position as BCCI President and IPL team owner came in for sharp criticism from court.

The 74-year-old Dalmiya, President of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), was unanimously accepted by all the units loyal to Srinivasan to return to a position he held more than a decade back.

Dalmiya's bid got a boost after Pawar failed to get any proposer from the East Zone, whose turn it was to nominate the president. The former ICC President had held the top post in BCCI between 2001 and 2004.

All the six state units from the East Zone owed allegiance to the Srinivasan camp when his loyalists met here on Sunday.

Maratha strongman Pawar, who was projected as possible candidate for the president's post, had also met his supporters.

Dalmiya's elevation to the position was necessitated after Srinivasan was forced to stay away from the election owing to a Supreme Court directive, which reduced his role to merely voting.

In fact, the AGM itself was delayed several times due to the legal battle that Srinivasan is fighting in the top court.

The apex court is currently hearing the IPL spot-fixing scandal in which conflict of interest with regards to Srinivasan's position as BCCI President and IPL team owner came in for sharp criticism from court.

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News Network
March 22,2024

IPL.jpg

The start of the world’s most lucrative cricket tournament in India is presenting investors with another big opportunity to cash in on the sport, months after the world’s most populous nation hosted the Cricket World Cup.

The eight-week long Indian Premier League begins March 22 for its 17th season. Since its inception, the fast-paced cricket tournament has become a corporate juggernaut to rival the National Football League in the US and the English Premier League in value.

Just as October’s Cricket World Cup boosted consumption in India for months, fans are expected to flock to restaurants, pubs and food delivery platforms over the duration of the tournament. This year’s IPL also coincides with general elections that will last for six weeks starting April 19, a period when companies are expecting higher food and drink sales as people flock to rallies and other events.

“There’s going to be a lot of spending,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. “IPL, as well as the election, gives a three-month corridor with enhanced economic activity.”

Stocks in India such as McDonald’s franchise operator Westlife Foodworld Ltd. and peer Sapphire Foods India Ltd. gained ahead of the first match on Friday, as well as hotels and beverage makers. Packaged-food companies could also stand to benefit from the IPL craze, said Sachil Bobade, an analyst at investment firm Dolat Capital Market.

The IPL ecosystem was valued at $11 billion (Rs 91,721 crores) in 2023, including the value of media rights and sponsorships, according to Indian valuation consulting firm D&P Advisory.

The league is also attracting record sums of money from sponsors and broadcasters. Conglomerate Tata Group won the title sponsorship rights of the tournament in January for a record 25 billion rupees ($300 million). Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s media venture secured the digital streaming rights in 2022 for five years for $2.7 billion, while Walt Disney Co. paid roughly the same for TV rights.

“There was a serious amount of bidding even this year,” said Vinit Karnik, head of entertainment, esports and sports at media agency GroupM South Asia. “I see growth in IPL in double digits year-on-year,” he adds.

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