New Delhi: Committee of Administrators (CoA) member Diana Edulji said Thursday she wanted to present the IPL winners’ trophy as she felt that BCCI acting president CK Khanna had ‘disregarded the protocol’ by not presenting the award during the ODI against Australia in Delhi.
Edulji wanted to present the IPL winners’ trophy to the champion team but was overruled by her CoA colleague Lt Gen Ravi Thodge, who felt that convention of president giving away the trophy should be followed.
“To set the facts straight, in the CoA meeting dated 8th April, the topic was discussed. During the discussion, I had mentioned that as the acting president (CK Khanna) had abdicated his right to give away the trophy during the BCCI bilateral match in Delhi,” Edulji said in a press release.
“He (Khanna) had shown disregard for the protocol and an office-bearer of a state association was allowed to give the trophy away and hence for the IPL final a CoA member should give the trophy. This was because the acting president had shown disregard to the office of the president of the BCCI,” added Edulji.
She also claimed she had mentioned in that meeting that if CoA chief Vinod Rai is present during the final, he should present the trophy or else it should be presented jointly by her and Lt Gen Thodge.
What seemed to have irked Edulji is that Khanna presented a two-year old email from acting secretary Amitabh Chaudhary. The former IPS officer had also written in favour of convention being followed.
“A few days before the final Mr Khanna forwarded a mail from the acting secretary Mr Amitabh Choudhary written sometime in the year 2017 in which he had said that as per protocol the BCCI president gives away the trophy,” said Edulji pointed out.
Time and again, Edulji asked why Khanna didn’t follow the protocol during the Australia ODI when DDCA president Rajat Sharma gave away the trophy. She also alleged that ‘few people in BCCI worked behind the scenes’ to stop her from presenting the trophy.
PTI
