MATCH REPORTS
STAT SHEET
DIARY
OTHER SPORTS
SLIDE SHOW
PEOPLE
DEAR REDIFF

Lele joins the war!

Board of Control for Cricket in India acting secretary J Y Lele on Wednesday took sides in the ongoing faction fight rocking Indian cricket, when he accused former president Inderjit Singh Bindra of having signed a three year contract with Pepsi, in September 1996, at Toronto for sponsoring Tests and ODIs in India, without the knowledge of the board members.

Lele, who at the time was joint secretary of the board, said that both he and board treasurer K S Nair were present in Toronto, but were unaware of Bindra's deal.

By unilaterally signing the contract, said Lele, Bindra had put the board in a tricky situation and, in fact, presented the BCCI with a fait accompli. Earlier, the board's working committee had Pepsi to make some changes to their proposed plan, but Bindra had initialled the contract without ensuring that the changes were made.

Further, said Lele, Bindra had signed the contract just one fortnight before the expiry of his tenure as board president -- which means that Bindra was locking the board into something, knowing as he did so that he would no longer be a part of the board.

Lele further alleged in his media briefing that Bindra has, through income tax, customs and central excise authorities, been exerting pressure on him, Lele, to stop him from voting in the BCCI elections due to be held in Madras on Thursday.

Lele, as secretary of the Baroda Cricket Association, had been nominated to represent that body in the BCCI AGM, and to vote for the BCA. However, said Lele, Bindra has been putting pressure on BA president Chirayu R Amin to nominate someone else to vote on the BCA's behalf.