The war of the letters: Who’s closest to bookie in BCCI?

The internal political tussle inside the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) seems to find no end. Soon after the former board president and current International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman N Srinivasan accused BJP MP and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Anurag Thakur for hobnobbing a suspected bookie Karan Gilhotra, the latter took a dig at Srinivasan in a strongly worded letter.

As per a news report by The Economic Times, Thakur said he has known the person — Gilhotra — as he has been active in political and cricketing activities in Punjab and adjacent states but he had no knowledge or any clue about his 'activities as a suspected bookie'.
"I have earlier been joint secretary of the BCCI under your president-ship and I am now secretary of the BCCI. I only wish you had shared the list of 'unverified suspected bookies' with me and other colleagues so that we could identify such persons and keep away from them," Thakur said in his letter to Srinivasan. Later in the letter, Thakur took a dig at Srinivasan asking him to also share this information "with your family members, whose involvement in betting has been proved."

"You may also share this information with your family members whose involvement in betting has been proved," he wrote. A senior BCCI official said the board is unlikely to act on the advisory given by ICC. The ICC had sent a letter dated April 22 addressed to board president Jagmohan Dalmiya informing him about Thakur socialising with Gilhotra just a few days after being elected as the secretary of BCCI.

The ICC letter said that its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) had received unverified information back in 2014 that Gilhotra had been trying to come close to players and support staff of IPL teams. N Srinivasan on his part said that he would respond to Thakur if need be. "If I feel anything about what all Anurag has written, I will personally write a letter to him," Srinivasan was quoted as saying by PTI.

Meanwhile, another BCCI official said that ICC should have sent the letter just as a confidential warning and should not have made it public.
As per the ET report, Thakur said that it was curious that the intimation about his having known this 'suspected bookie' was brought to ICC's notice by "your friend Mr Neeraj Gunde", who he claimed operates on Srinivasan's behalf. He also claimed that Gunde has been circulating the details of documents against Srinivasan's critics in the BCCI to the media in Delhi.

(Image: Reuters)