CAB to discuss Dalmiya's expulsion

Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former ICC president, will stay away from an emergency Working Committee meeting of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) tomorrow. The meeting has been called to discuss his expulsion for life from the BCCI and its implications for him as the president of the CAB.

The meeting is expected to be stormy, what with the BCCI turning the heat on the CAB, and the dissidents, who lost the July elections to the association, also actively seeking to force the curtains down on Dalmiya's long rule.

Following the Special General Meeting's decision to expel Dalmiya, the equations within the CAB have been affected, with some hitherto staunch Dalmiya loyalists now clamouring for his resignation from the state body. They claim that Dalmiya ceased to be CAB president the moment he was expelled by the Indian board. They have referred to rule 38 (V) in the BCCI constitution which says that any person expelled by the board automatically stands debarred from being associated in any capacity with an associate or affiliate unit of the board.

Dalmiya has, however, contested the claim, saying he was still the CAB president as the said rule was ''non-existent''. He has claimed that the rule, incorporated in the board constitution as an amendment in September 2000, was not sent for registration in time.