Aditya Verma, secretary of the unrecognised Cricket Association of Bihar, who’s petition in the Supreme Court led to the verdict in the Indian Premier League scandal that led to the ouster of former BCCI president N Srinivasan, has claimed that he was pressured by current ICC chief Shashank Manohar to approach the court, The Asian Age reported.
Speaking to reporters, Verma claimed that his fight was not against Srinivasan, but against the corrupt system. He stated that Manohar had promised recognition for the CAB in exchange of him taking the lead in court.
“It was Manohar who pressed me to fight against Srinivasan and in return he had promised recognition for the CAB,” Verma said. “Manohar, a lawyer by profession, even helped me rework some of my court petitions. But he cheated me.
“He got two benefits from my legal fight. He ousted Srinivasan from the BCCI and also snatched the ICC chairman post from him. I have never seen a more power hungry person than Manohar,” he said.
‘Biggest mistake of my life’
Verma said the move to side with “Shashank Manohar and Anurag Thakur against Srinivasan was “the biggest mistake of his life”.
“Thakur and Manohar did everything meticulously,” Verma said. “When the IPL scam erupted, Manohar wanted a CBI enquiry in BCCI, but when he took over as the president for the second time after the demise of Jagmohan Dalmiya he was quiet. As planned, he then handed over the chair to Thakur to take the ICC post,” he added.
Verma said he was “revealing” the details as he did not want Srinivasan to think of him as a villain.
“I always had respect for Srinivasan and I will continue to respect him till my last breath. My fight has always been against the corrupt system. I don’t want to be a villain in the eyes of Srinivasan and that’s why I am revealing everything now,” said Verma.
“I have seen the way how various BCCI presidents functioned over the years and Srinivasan is the finest administrator of them all. He has done a lot for Indian cricket,” he added.