Cleansing cricket is my top priority: Jagmohan Dalmiya

Jagmohan Dalmiya has been appointed the Interim BCCI chief nearly six and half years after he was expelled from the same office, but he does not consider this an individual victory.

Kolkata: Life might have come a full circle for astute cricket administrator Jagmohan Dalmiya after being appointed the Interim BCCI chief nearly six and half years after he was expelled from the same office, but he does not consider this an individual victory.

Dalmiya is instead taking this as a challenge to clean the murk maligning cricket in the wake of the spot-fixing scam. "This is not an individual victory. The need of the hour is to cleanse cricket. That`s my top priority. I have very little time to do that. I have to work very fast," Dalmiya told reporters after arriving here from the BCCI emergent working committee meeting in Chennai. "I have to prove to the cricket fraternity that cricket is a clean sport. I need to get that confidence back on the people," he said. Dalmiya was expelled in December 2006 on charges of misappropriation of funds in the 1996 World Cup as he was forced to step down as the Cricket Association of Bengal president. Terming this a big period, Dalmiya said: "It was a big period. I have proved my innocence. I believe in achieving things." Dalmiya further said he had requested Sanjay Jagdale and Ajay Shirke to resume their respective roles. "They are experienced people and they know their jobs. I am expecting them to reply within next 24 hours." The Chennai meeting might have appeared farce with Board chief N Srinivasan refusing to step down but Dalmiya said: "I don`t subscribe to the views that the meeting was an eyewash." After serving as International Cricket Council chief for three years since 1997, Dalmiya became BCCI President in 2001 and continued to be the all-in-all in the board till his tenure ended in 2004. But Sharad Pawar stormed to power in 2005 with an emphatic victory to become BCCI chief while his team won all the other key posts, as the Dalmiya camp suffered an embarrassing defeat. Months later, the BCCI lodged a police complaint against Dalmiya for alleged misappropriation of funds related to the 1996 World Cup in which India was a co-host. PTI