IPL chief Shukla too quits, BCCI will meet today

Rajeev Shukla,Srinivasan

IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla resigned on Saturday evening, becoming the third top official of the cricket board to step down in the past 24 hours.

The focus — and pressure — will now firmly be on the beleaguered president of the BCCI, N Srinivasan, when the working committee of the board meets for an "emergent meeting" in Chennai on Sunday afternoon.

Following the resignations of secretary Sanjay Jagdale and treasurer Ajay Shirke on Friday and Shukla on Saturday, the position of the president, whose son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings team principal Gurunath Meiyappan is under arrest for alleged betting, is increasingly growing untenable in the eyes of a number of state association officials.

"I have decided to quit as IPL chairman. It is a decision which I was pondering over for some time. Sanjay Jagdale and Ajay Shirke resigned in the best interests of Indian cricket and I thought this is the right time," Shukla said.

The working committee, which is meeting on Sunday, does not have the power to bring a no-confidence motion against the president. Srinivasan, it is learnt, may consider stepping down from his post until the BCCI-appointed commission to probe the spot-fixing and betting scandal submits its report.

"There is nothing in the BCCI constitution called temporary or ad hoc resignation. Either he (Srinivasan) will go, or he will stay," Punjab Cricket Association secretary and former BCCI joint secretary MP Pandove said.

However, another top BCCI official said that as this was a "unique situation" Srinivasan might step aside, but only after naming a secretary and president of his choice. "Srinivasan can also nominate an interim president of his choice. And if he also names a secretary and treasurer of his choice then he will have his men in key positions. But we have to wait and watch," the official said.