Pressure from within mounted further Wednesday for N. Srinivasan’s departure as head of the BCCI, rising like the mercury in summer, but the cricket board president remained adamant and refused to heed the growing chorus against his continuing in office until the police investigation and the board’s internal probe have run their course.
Wednesday began with IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla asking Mr Srinivasan to “disassociate” himself from the BCCI probe against his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, but the calls for Mr Srinivasan to go grew shriller with former ICC and BCCI presidents Sharad Pawar and Jagmohan Dalmiya pitching in with remarks that got to the heart of the matter: the fair name of cricket.
Mr Pawar, Union agriculture minister and former BCCI chief with whom Mr Srinivasan has fallen out, broke his silence on Wednesday and sought a home ministry probe into all 75 IPL-6 matches in the wake of the spot-fixing and betting allegations.
Mr Srinivasan, meanwhile, attending to work at the BCCI’s headquarters in Mumbai for the first time since all hell broke loose in the betting and spot-fixing scandals, said defiantly on Wednesday: “I saw Mr Shukla’s interview. What he says is that this commission has been appointed, and I should disassociate myself... I had said in Kolkata I will have nothing to do with the commission — its appointment, terms of reference and its decisions.”
The question that is now being asked in legal circles is how did the BCCI get to pick the two retired judges to serve on the panel when propriety demands that it seek the help of a judicial authority like the Supreme Court to name the judges. An internal probe ordered by a body which has the right to set terms of reference of the probe and act on the findings may not stand legal scrutiny, as the BCCI once found out in its case against players it had Asad Rauf denies role, ready for ICC probe banned in 1989.
Mr Rajeev Shukla, IPL chairman, went further on Wednesday and said his own desire was to “disassociate” himself from the scam-hit IPL next season because of all the scandals having damaged the game’s image. BCCI president-in-waiting Arun Jaitley is also reported to have concurred with Mr Shukla’s view on the need for Mr Srinivasan to stay away from the BCCI until the internal inquiry is complete.
Union minister of state for sports Jitendra Singh was under no such compulsion to pull his punches. He said in a pointed statement: “The BCCI is inquiring into the allegations of match- and spot-fixing. As there is a conflict of interest in this inquiry, therefore the BCCI president should tender his resignation on moral grounds, pending the outcome of the inquiry.” The sports ministry said it was observing the unfolding events “with considerable disquiet”.
Mr Pawar said the reputation of the game and the board had been affected by the scandals, and said he favoured “ruthless and effective action” against anyone found guilty. In a veiled attack on Mr Srinivasan, he said that if he had remained at the helm, he would not have allowed “this nonsense” to happen.
Endorsing the suggestion of his successor Shashank Manohar for a government probe into all IPL matches played this season, Mr Pawar said: “If the BCCI gives in writing to the home minister and requests him to investigate all the matches, the government can then investigate all matches. They can interrogate anybody. They have legal sanction. That is why Mr Manohar’s suggestion is useful and effective, and the board should accept it.”
He added: “If, however, the board does not accept it and says its own anti-corruption unit will do the job, I feel the board is not serious in dealing with wrongdoings.”
Mr Pawar, however, parried a question whether Mr Srinivasan should quit, saying: “I don’t want to say if someone should go or someone should not go because I am nobody... I have no authority to ask for resignations.
Nor do I have the authority to comment on the opinions expressed by others. I would not have allowed this to happen.”
In Mumbai, a Jharkhand cricket association member filed a complaint in a magistrate’s court against the BCCI and its functionaries for “cheating” the public in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal. The complainant, Naresh Makani, who named BCCI functionaries and also Gurunath Meiyappan of Chennai Super Kings, alleged that all IPL matches were “fixed” and that the franchise owners were involved. “The circumstances clearly establish that matches are not arranged as sporting events, but to earn billions wrongfully,” the complaint reads.