New Delhi:
Calls for Board of Control for Cricket in India president N Srinivasan's resignation are growing louder with each passing day but the man at the helm of cricket management in India is in no mood to listen.
Mr Srinivasan's critics point out that his position as BCCI chief is untenable given that his son-in-law,
Gurunath Meiyappan, has been arrested on charges of betting. The BCCI has announced a probe into the matter, but it's a massive conflict of interest for Mr Srinivasan to head the cricket board pending the inquiry, critics say.
Jyotiraditya Scindia was the first politician associated with the cricket board to unambiguously suggest that Mr Srinivasan should resign. "I would certainly expect and appeal to Mr Srinivasan's inner conscience that he must step aside not only in his own interest but in the interest of the sport," he said.
Yesterday, board members Rajeev Shukla and Arun Jaitley reportedly asked Mr Srinivasan to "stay away" from the activities of the cricket board till the three-member panel completes its investigation into the IPL scandal.
To that, Mr Srinivasan said, "Rajeev Shukla has said that I should disassociate myself from the probe. During the press conference in Kolkata last week I had stated that I will have nothing to do with the probe."
Others who have called for Mr Srinivasan to quit include former board chief IS Bindra and Sports Minister Jitendra Singh. Mr Singh said, "As there is a conflict of interest in this inquiry, the BCCI President should tender his resignation on moral grounds, pending its outcome." Another former board chief, Jagmohan Dalmiya also has said that this is a golden opportunity to clean up cricket. (
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Members of the Hyderabad and Goa cricket associations have also said that Mr Srinivasan must go. G Vinod of the Hyderabad Cricket Association said, "Public mandate is very important and public mandate demands that the Board president should step down."
Top BCCI sources say it will not be easy to oust Mr Srinivasan. He is an elected functionary and two-thirds of the 30-member BCCI Working Committee has to vote in favour of his removal before he can be asked to go. So far, those who want him to quit have not yet mustered enough numbers.
The BCCI has announced a three-member inquiry commission to investigate
spot-fixing and betting allegations that rocked the recently-concluded IPL edition. The panel will look into the charges against the three arrested Rajasthan Royals' players and also probe Mr Meiyappan. Mr Meiyappan is an "honorary member" of the Chennai Super Kings team management. Mr Srinivasan's India Cements owns the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).