The IPL betting report

Betting by Meiyappan is tantamount to, say, insider trading on the stock market

It was just last year that senior officials of the BCCI were in revolt against their president N Srinivasan following allegations of betting against his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan. Srinivasan’s resignation seemed almost foregone then. And yet here he is now, still president in title, plus overlord of the ICC and his brother elected the head of the Indian Olympic Association. But, at this moment of triumph, Meiyappan has struck again.

A three-member enquiry commission to look into spot fixing and betting allegations in the Indian Premier League, led by retired justice Mukul Mudgal and two other eminent jurists, has said that Meiyappan was involved in betting and that there would need to be further investigation of the fixing charges.

Betting by an ordinary citizen would not have been as serious, but Meiyappan belongs to the family that owns the company India Cements, which owns the Chennai Super Kings, one of the IPL teams. Betting by him would therefore be tantamount to, say, insider trading on the stock market. And passing on information is another charge that the Mudgal report makes against him.

Meiyappan’s strategy was to dissociate himself from the team and say that he was not an owner because he was not a shareholder of Indian Cements. The report, however, is categorical and, according to ESPNCricinfo.com, says, ‘The Committee is of the view that Mr Meiyappan was accredited/authorised (though implicit at times) by the Franchise Owner, ie India Cements, to participate and be present when various crucial decisions were taken in relation to CSK.”

This also makes Srinivasan and CSK captain MS Dhoni party to the cover up. Both of them had told the committee that Meiyappan had no role in the team. Already, there is a sense of déjà vu with headlines that say that Srinivasan won’t resign. Judging by his past record, he will almost certainly not give up his fight.

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arindam