After a Kolkata court revoked his expulsion from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) three years ago, Jagmohan Dalmiya consciously avoided coming to the BCCI meetings.
He did not want to encounter a hostile reception from his former colleagues. The anti-Dalmiya lobby in the Board was strong. “I wanted to stay away from all the hostility and arguments,” he would remark. Things were not good for Dalmiya.
Cut to 2011, and the situation is different. Now, when he talks, the board listen to him. At a meeting here last month, he wanted to make a point on the ‘ill-treatment meted out to Eden Gardens’ during the World Cup. The members listened to him in rapt attention. They even took note of his points, although there was little purpose in the discussion over a tournament that was over. Suddenly, things have improved for Dalmiya.
From the just-concluded Annual General Meeting of the BCCI, Dalmiya went back to Kolkata with a renewed vigour. He has successfully managed to remain the strong man of East Zone.
Ranjib Biswal’s election as the secretary would have created a parallel power centre in the zone. It did not happen.
The Orissa Cricket Association (OCA) president had come to Mumbai with a large entourage hoping that his election as secretary was certain. The OCA even had planned a grand reception to him back home but he would never know what went wrong for him. Insiders say Dalmiya shrewdly made his opposition known to the powers that be in the BCCI.
Jharkhand State Cricket Association president Amitabh Chaudhry was the open dissenting voice against Biswal but only a few know who had provided him the inspiration to do so. Dalmiya knew much in advance that it would be Sanjay Jagdale, not Biswal, who would be the secretary. Besides, he also got his man, Chitrak Mitra, elected as vice-president from East Zone.
The turn of events at the AGM proved that Dalmiya is firmly in control, of not only the Cricket Association of Bengal but also of the entire East Zone.
Three years back, the CAB was in the blacklist of the BCCI. In a span of one month, his association would host an ODI, Twenty20 international and a Test. A few years ago, he was the most troubled man. The current president N Srinivasan was his arch-rival in the board. No longer.
Now, Dalmiya is at peace with himself, having won peace with his chief adversary. The man, who once ruled the Indian cricket, is regaining his lost control. Slowly but surely, he is getting back into business.
