Pawar says he just doesn’t have the time

Mumbai Cricket Association president Sharad Pawar said today that he had resigned from the BCCI’s marketing committee because he ‘...

Mumbai Cricket Association president Sharad Pawar said today that he had resigned from the BCCI’s marketing committee because he ‘‘did not have time to attend the meetings (of the marketing committee) because of his political commitments.’’

It was an anti-climax of sorts to the build-up that had taken place ahead of the important meeting here. Pawar was inducted into the committee at the Board’s last AGM at Kolkata.

Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Pawar, who is also expected to fight for the BCCI president’s post, said: ‘‘For me, there are more important social issues and BCCI is hardly a social issue.’’ His statement left to the imagination answers to questions like ‘when then a president’s post of the BCCI?’

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Pawar had taken pains to make sure that his candidacy came in from Jammu and Kashmir, and his rival will be incumbent Ranbir Singh Mahendra from Haryana.

The Board’s marketing committee meets here tomorrow to decide on the contentious issue of telecast rights for the next four years. However, according to a court ruling, the decisions arrived at in the meeting cannot be disclosed till pending cases are disposed.

On Friday, BCCI insiders had said Pawar resigned from the marketing committee because he was unhappy with the financial affairs of the board, which were in a shambles and made him ‘feel like an outsider’.

However, just a day after, Pawar has denied that any such reason led to the resignation. He says he just doesn’t have time.