Srini''s presence causes uproar at BCCI meeting

Kolkata, August 28

BCCI’s crucial Working Committee was adjourned sine die on Friday after some members objected to former president N Srinivasan’s presence at the meeting.

The question about whether to allow the sidelined former BCCI strongman to attend the meeting arose after Srinivasan, also present, claimed he could attend it as the president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association.

"The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Working Committee meeting was adjourned sine die after deciding to seek the opinion of the Hon'ble Supreme Court whether N Srinivasan could attend the meetings of the BCCI as the authorised representative of Tamil Nadu Cricket Association," BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur said in a brief statement.

Officials in BCCI claimed some members of the board countered Srinivasan’s claim by arguing that the Supreme Court’s instructions were that he should keep away from the board’s meetings.

"Since there was no clarity on the legal status of Mr Srinivsan, President adjourned the meeting after the BCCI legal adviser Ushanath Banerjee also said that he was not sure about Srinivasan's legal standing as of now," an official said.

Among those attempted to dissuade him were IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla and BCCI Treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary.

The meeting was called to discuss a working group’s report recommendations on the board’s course of action for the IPL after CSK and Rajasthan Royals were suspended for two years.

Heated debates took up most of the meeting, forcing officials to put off their discussions over the recommendations.

Srinivasan’s hold over the BCCI began to sway after his son-in-law and principal of CSK team, Gurunath Meiyappan, was accused of heavily betting in the Indian Premier League. The former BCCI chief, who is currently the president of the International Cricket Council, was forced to stepp down as BCCI president in 2014.  

He argued that he should be allowed to attend the meeting as administrator and owner of Indian Cements, which owns CSK.

The BCCI, it is learnt, has decided to call an emergency working committee meeting in the first week of September to decide the date of its Annual General Meeting, which is likely to be held in Kolkata on September 27.

In July, Justice Lodha Committee had suspended the two franchises for two years and had passed a life ban on Meyiappan and Raj Kundra — who owns Rajastha Royals — from being involved in commercial cricket activities.   

The committee was appointed by the Supreme Court to decide on the penalties for the two franchises after Kundra and Meiyappan were found guilty of being involved in heavy betting in the cast-rich but very controversial Indian Premier League.

On Thursday, the IPL Governing Council had recommended having two news teams for the next two editions of Indian Premier League in place of the two suspended teams. — PTI