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Muthiah is board chief, Kapil to coach

The Rediff team

A C Muthiah, industrialist and cricket administrator of long standing, besides being the son of former BCCI chief M A Chidambaram, is the new president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Kapil Dev is the new coach, replacing Anshuman Gaekwad.

And Jagmohan Dalmiya has, yet again, completely steam-rollered over all opposition, in course of the BCCI's annual general body meeting at Jaipur.

So complete was the dominance of the Dalmiya faction that opponent-in-chief Inderjit Singh Bindra boycotted the meeting, rather than face defeat in an open vote. And Sunil Dev, a Bindra camp-follower and one time contender for the post of board secretary, preferred to stay in Delhi rather than travel to Jaipur for what was going to be a foregone conclusion.

Muthiah will hold office for the next three years -- subject, of course, to his winning re-election each year.

The defeat of the Bindra faction became apparent when former Maharashtra chief minister and Mumbai Cricket Association head Manohar Joshi, who thanks to palace intrigues was being put up as a candidate by the Andhra Pradesh Cricket Association, withdrew from the fray before the meeting.

This meant that Muthiah was elected unopposed -- thus ratifying the general perception that the numbers were heavily weighted in favour of Dalmiya.

Meanwhile, former skipper Kapil Dev was appointed the national coach, pipping the likes of Sunny Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Mohinder Amarnath.

Kapil had demanded a three-year contract and a voice in team selection. He has got almost all that he asked for -- he will, thus, have an unofficial voice in team selection, and will sign a two-year contract effective October 1.

The board also appointed Australian Antony Lipus as the team's physiotherapist.

Outgoing president Raj Singh Dungarpur told the media that while the practise was to appoint coaches for a year, Kapil had been given a brief for double that time frame as a special case.

Lipus, who had in the mid-nineties helped both Sachin Tendulkar and Javagal Srinath with injuries, has been appointed for a year, but other terms and conditions have not yet been finalised.

Earlier, Bindra, along with Lalit Modi of Himachal Pradesh and Ranganath Reddy of the Hyderabad Cricket Association, boycotted the meeting alleging that a gross violation had taken place. The reference was to the fact that when the meeting got under way at the Rambagh Palace Hotel, the secretary jumped several places down the agenda without warning, moving from item two to item six -- the presidential election -- without notice.

Ram Prasad of Karnataka was named to fill the post of vice-president from the south, filling the vacancy created by Muthiah's elevation. No other changes have been made in the board hierarchy.

Dungarpur rejected the allegation made by Bindra and asserted that there was no violation of the BCCI constitution. He said the meeting passed the minutes of the last AGM and the report of the secretary, and the members of the house wanted the election agenda to be taken first.

"Bindra wanted to unnecessarily prolong issues, such as the report of the secretary," he said.

A jubilant new chief Muthiah said Bindra was ''totally ignorant'' of the provisions of the BCCI constitution. He said the selection committee will be constituted tomorrow, with the formation of other sub-committees.

During the meeting, Manohar Joshi came out and told newsmen that he would not contest the election and had withdrawn his candidature. He said he took the decision today after making a full assessment of the situation.

Replying to a question, Joshi said there is no question of removing Ajit Wadekar from the chairman's post in the senior selection committee. "He will continue to retain his position," he said.

There was some confusion at the meeting after it was realised that Hyderabad Cricket Association was represented by two members. After heated exchanges in the house, Rangnath Reddy (HCA secretary), having the support of the Bindra-led group and Surana (president), supported by the Jagmohan Dalmiya group, were both allowed to attend the meeting.

Bindra, who suddenly left the meeting along with Modi, told newspersons that he had moved three motions - fitness of players, the appointment of a physio and globlisation of cricket. He refused to elaborate on the motions, stating that the BCCI secretary and the president could only explain them. "It is up to them now," he said.

Bindra and Modi did not return to the meeting, but Ranganath Reddy later came back. Surana, however, was asked to sit outside the venue.

Former India offspinner and national selector Shivlal Yadav later told reporters that a stay had been obtained on Surana.

RELATED REPORT:
Bindra faction challenges Muthiah's election in court