New Delhi: A key cabinet minister is central to backroom talks currently dominating the mind and space of the world's richest cricket board which is trying to find a worthy successor to Jagmohan Dalmiya.


BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur with former Board presidents Shashank Manohar (left) and Sharad Pawar (right) at Dalmiya's funeral. Pic/PTI

Dalmiya died on Sunday night but age, health and stress had reduced the BCCI top man to a mere arm chair president. There were times when the veteran cricket administrator had to be guided at crucial meetings by his son, Abhishek, and BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley, a key member of the BCCI, had visited Dalmiya last month and advised the ailing president to step down. The BCCI — internally — had even agreed to make Dalmiya chairman emeritus or life patron. But Dalmiya was keen to retire after the ICC T20 World Cup, the finals of which were to be hosted in Kolkata's Eden Gardens, Dalmiya's turf.