In the past few days, many BCCI heavyweights had said, off the record, that Srinivasan's position had become untenable following the arrest of his son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, on charges of betting and match-fixing. There had even been talk that Chennai Super Kings, the IPL franchise controlled by Srinivasan, could be barred from the IPL. But on Sunday, these so-called heavyweights meekly caved in once they realized they didn't have the three-fourth majority (24 votes) to oust Srinivasan, and allowed him to have his way.
Srinivasan's much-anticipated meeting with senior BCCI vice-president and BJP stalwart Arun Jaitley and parliamentary affairs minister and IPL commissioner Rajeev Shukla on the sidelines of the marketing committee meeting failed to yield any tangible results. According to sources, the duo discussed the issues facing the BCCI with Srinivasan but the R-word was not suggested.
Sources said that some senior board members did ask Srinivasan to step down but he argued that he had personally done nothing wrong and was the victim of a conspiracy by former IPL czar Lalit Modi and other powerful players, including the owners of some franchises that have been terminated. Faced with his refusal to budge, the board members were forced to back down.
The one mildly discordant note in an otherwise triumphant day for Srinivasan was struck by a statement issued by former BCCI president Shashank Manohar, who said the BCCI needed to crack down on fixing and suggested that it seek the help of the Union home ministry's investigative machinery to probe all matches in IPL 6. However, Manohar, who has been spoken of as an interim BCCI head if Srinivasan quits, did not even in passing raise of issue of the credibility crisis at the top.
Apart from that, it was Srinivasan all the way. Addressing a packed media conference at a Kolkata hotel, Srinivasan said that the question of his resignation did not arise.
Srinivasan also pooh-poohed suggestions that a revolt was brewing in the BCCI and that a section of the members wanted him to resign. Reiterating that he had the mandate to lead BCCI, Srinivasan said, "There were reports of a potential revolt in the BCCI... none of that has happened. The BCCI is united."
With the seniormost BCCI officials refraining from forcing the issue, the rank and file quietly fell in line. A clutch of association heads, who still agree in principle that Srinivasan ought to step down — even if temporarily to facilitate the probe — quickly changed track as soon as the tour and fixtures committee announced the venues for the ODI and T20 series against Australia later this year. It may not be a coincidence that some of the smaller centres bagged some of the lucrative matches. All talk of revolt against the establishment quickly faded away.
In fact, the board members even registered their silent support by sitting through the hour-long press conference where Srinivasan stonewalled every query with the promise of an 'independent' probe to be initiated at the behest of the board he presides over.
Apart from a yet-to-be-named independent member, the panel will include two of the following five: Jaitley, Shukla, BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale, treasurer Ajay Shirke and former India skipper Ravi Shastri (who gets paid handsomely by BCCI for his role as a commentator).
Asked about his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, Srinivasan said, "He (Meiyappan) has been travelling with the team. He is just an enthusiast." When pressed further about Meiyappan's role, he said, "I am not going to sit and explain to you what his role was. India Cements has already issued a statement. The commission will answer your question."
Asked why the CSK franchise should not be terminated for allegedly violating ICC's code of conduct, Srinivasan said, "The CSK is owned by a public limited company called India Cements, which has more than a lakh shareholders. There is no accusation against the CSK team. The public will disagree with you. The fact that (Sunday's) final is sold out shows that cricket fans do not share your view."
Asked about the probe panel's neutrality, and whether he would appear before it, he said, "You cannot assume the people of the board can't act fairly. He condemned the media for "relentlessly and unfairly" attacking the BCCI.
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