Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President N Srinivasan (second right), walks out after attending a working committee meeting in Chennai, yesterday.
NEW DELHI: India’s cricket chief yesterday defied calls to quit over a betting scandal in the country’s top domestic competition but agreed to step aside to allow an investigation to take place, the board announced.
The move, a compromise negotiated by N Srinivasan at an emergency meeting in the southern city of Chennai, appeared unlikely to quell the controversy which has seen the country’s sports ministry call on him to resign.
Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was arrested on May 24 for allegedly taking part in illegal betting on the Indian Premier League (IPL) which is the subject of multiple police investigations.
Meiyappan is a business executive for the most successful IPL franchise, the Chennai Super Kings, which is owned by 68-year-old businessman Srinivasan who has headed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) since 2011.
“N Srinivasan announced that he will not discharge his duties as the president of the board till such time that the probe is completed,” said a statement after the meeting.
It said Jagmohan Dalmiya, a controversial former president of the BCCI from 2001-2004, “will conduct the day-to-day affairs of the board” during Srinivasan’s absence. The BCCI met yesterday amid growing rancour among the 31-member body and a series of resignations over previous days, including the secretary, the treasurer and the chairman of the IPL, Rajeev Shukla.
Srinivasan described his decision to step aside “an extraordinarily fair step”, saying the meeting was smooth and free from acrimony.
“After discussions, I announced I will not discharge my functions till the probe is completed. The decision was well received,” he told NDTV station.
A top BCCI official who did not want to be named said the decision was not unanimous.
“I heard Srinivasan say the decision was unanimous... it was anything but unanimous and all I can say at this time is that the last has not been heard about this,” he said.
The scandal in the money-spinning IPL, a Twenty20 tournament which sees top international stars play alongside domestic players, has again shaken the faith of fans in what is overwhelmingly India’s most popular sport.
The arrest of Srinivasan’s son-in-law came after Test paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and two teammates in the IPL’s Rajasthan Royals — Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila —were taken into custody. All the accused deny any wrongdoing.
Police allege the players deliberately bowled badly in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars after striking deals with bookmakers.
Meiyappan, who is still in custody, is being investigated for allegedly passing information to bookies and placing bets on the IPL. This is illegal under India’s laws which ban gambling on all sports except horse-racing.
Srinivasan can only be impeached if three-quarters of the BCCI board vote against him.
Speaking at a defiant press conference last month, he launched a blistering attack on the Indian media’s relentless coverage of the scandal.
“I have explained it many times, I have done nothing wrong,” he said at the time. “I will not allow myself to be railroaded, bulldozed or threatened.”
Cricket analyst Prem Panicker said that Srinivasan should take responsibility for the problems in Indian cricket.
“For two successive years, we have had the taint of match-fixing impact IPL,” he said.
“He has failed in pretty much every respect... I can’t think of a single area where he got it right,” he said of Srinivasan.
The crunch meeting of the BCCI came after IPL chairman Shukla said on Saturday he was resigning from his post “in the best interest of cricket”.
rubber stamp
Meanwhile, BCCI board member and Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) president I S Bindra called some of the BCCI working committee members present at the general meeting here as gutless and said that N Srinivasan, who stepped aside as the board chief, will continue to rubber stamp every decision.
The constituion of the BCCI has no provision for an interim position.
“Srinivasan said in the meeting that there is no such thing as an interim president and said he would continue to rubber stamp all BCCI’s decision,” Bindra told reporters. “I wanted him to resign categorically, but no one had the guts to speak out, there were only whispers.” Ajay Shirke, who resigned as BCCI treasurer along with secretary Sanjay Jagdale, echoed Bindra’s sentiments in an interview to a TV channel.
“Dalmiya has been entrusted with the day-to-day running and affairs but whenever there is a presidential issue, Srinivasan will be consulted,” he said.
“Nobody except Bindra and myself and a couple of others questioned this arrangement. At the end of the day, this has been carried through.”
“What I understand at a simple level, I don’t think this works legally, but bigger leaders have suggested this. I don’t want to act pricey or displease anyone, but I cannot continue,” Shirke said.
Shirke also categorically said he would not return to his position as BCCI treasurer and thought the meeting was a step backward.
Bindra also said that BCCI vice president and BJP leader Arun Jaitley, who joined the meeting via a video link, had his way and said that he had made most of the suggestions.
“Jaitley has had his way, and made most of the suggestions during the meeting, including to appoint Dalmiya,” Bindra said.
“This is unconstitutional, majority of the members had told me personally during lunch that they wanted him (Srinivas) to resign but did not have the guts to speak out,” he added.
“I have no complaint over the appointment of Dalmiya but I’m unhappy with the process.”
Bindra said that he had asked Dalmiya not to take up the position but the latter said “he needed to take the responsibility”.
AFP/IANS
