Q. One year from now, when the next BCCI election is held, what would you like to have put in place?
A. There are certain things that we have to plan for as early as possible. Like the 2006 Champions Trophy which is only 10 months way. All countries will be coming here. That entire preparation is the most important for our board. Prior to that, my real worry is the functioning of the board. I have no personal complaints against any functionary but with the system that has been adopted over the years. The constitution says Mumbai is the headquarters. If you go to the BCCI office in Mumbai, the office is empty, nothing is there. When we ask for a particular circular or paper, we are told it is with the secretary who lives in another state and another place. So you have to contact him. Then the treasurer lives in another state. Whenever a new board takes over, the new finance committee chairman or treasurer transfers the entire finances of the board from one bank to another bank. This money is in fixed deposits where if you interrupt deposits before maturity, you lose a lot of money. This is public money, it is not ours, we are just the trustees.

I want to discuss this issue with my colleagues and convince them to set up a full-fledged headquarters in Mumbai which is where the constitution says the head office must be based. Appoint a professional official to take care of day-to-day affairs and let the secretary and other office-bearers visit the office from time to time. We have to introduce some discipline and some system for the day-to-day running of the board. I have to give first priority for that.

Q. What kind of electoral reforms does the BCCI need ?
A. After the last AGM, I said there was tremendous scope to improve the overall rules and terms of the board. Having an election every year does not give stability to any organisation. It takes you two-three months to prepare for an election, if you are elected, two weeks or so to get organized and so you get hardly seven-eight months in which to work. There is no election procedure either. In any other election, there is a procedure, a voters list is announced, there is time given for raising objections after the list is finalized, time given to file nominations, so all the voters know who the candidates are.

These things are accepted throughout the world in all democracies. This is an area that has to be looked into. After last year's meeting, I myself discussed this with Mr Dalmiya and we agreed that this is the time we should take some corrective measures but unfortunately we could not get time. I will try to take all sides of the board into confidence and bring in some regularity and uniformity here.

Q. What about uniformity in how your state cricket associations are structured and run? Some states have districts that vote, others clubs, yet others have individuals...
A. I would be happy if there is a uniform constitution but that is not possible in a democratic set-up. Every state has a different constitution. This has to be discussed threadbare in our committee, first informally and more officially. I would be happy if there is a uniform constitution and a wide representation given to every district or other groups in the states. It will only give strength to any state. We will discuss this and try to give some guidelines.

Q. What is your personal opinion of the zonal selection system as a method to select players? Is it fair? Has it not been turned into a quota system? Doesn't it need to be changed?
A. There is a zonal system but I don't think there is a system of quotas. It has been accepted for quite a while and I would not want to make any changes without consulting my colleagues. There is a scope to look into the matter but you cannot just set aside the whole system. We need to try and fully understand its pluses and minuses. We must remember it also gets representation from all zones, so no zone is neglected. There have not been any major complaints about the selection committee, there are some problems here and there, small things in the last number of years, but the vast experience is not that bad.

Q. How involved would you like to be in cricketing affairs?
A. Any decision pertaining to cricket has to be taken essentially by those closely associated with the game. I will be happy if there is a committee set up to deal with cricketing matters which is run by eminent cricketers of the country. For instance, I am president of Mumbai cricket for the past four years but I don't know anything about the selection process because we have picked a committee of eminent cricketers, headed by Madhav Apte, a former opener for India. Along with other cricketers, they discuss, they select. Whatever they suggest, we just approve. The time has come in the board where the game, the management of the game and selection of the players has to be kept altogether separate. Internally, there may be problems about a board's representative but it should not reflect on the career or future of any player.

Q. You have talked about infrastructure, but how can you keep tabs on how state associations spend the grants that they get? Besides, most Indian grounds are owned by city corporations and are badly maintained.
A. The country needs excellent quality infrastructure. Hyderabad is trying to build a stadium and requires a lot of money. The Board has given them a grant of Rs 4 crore. Today if you want to construct a stadium with a capacity of 30,000-40,000 it requires Rs 35-40 crore; I believe at least 25 per cent has to be provided by the board. We have got a lot of money kept in the bank which is a good thing but we are not supposed to just earn interest, we are also supposed to spend some money for infrastructure, on the game and on players.

Q. What aspect of the old administrations would you like to get rid of from the BCCI?
A. I would like to take the help of everybody, with experience for the larger interests of the game. Mr Dalmiya has been associated with national and international cricket for a number of years. Cricket has benefited from his commercial approach. It is our responsibility to take his advice.

Q. What about the TV rights issue where Doordarshan almost has an unfair advantage over other competitors as regards matches played in India?
A. Ultimately the law of the land is supreme, when the Indian Parliament has taken a decision, we have to respect that. But I don't think that this is the type of issue that you should agitate for or fight for in the court and waste a lot of time and money over. I have asked our legal counsel to send me a list of pending cases. I think there are a number of pending cases with the Supreme Court and high courts pertaining to the board. We have to act in such a fashion that the board's interest is protected. And if there is unnecessary litigation, we need to take care of it

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