The ‘Nausea’ of Hanging On

No matter who tells him he must go, BCCI President N Srinivasan refuses to let go of his cricket-industrial empire

In the run up to the IPL, it is not cricket that is making news, but a Supreme Court proposal. The SC wants BCCI’s President N Srinivasan—arguably the strongest cricket administrator in the world—gone, and two IPL cricket teams, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), suspended. This proposal throws into disarray the future of the IPL, most certainly the tournament scheduled from 16 April onwards.

The fault for this impasse lies squarely with Srinivasan. When the Supreme Court issued a two-day ultimatum to him on 24 March to resign voluntarily—‘Why is Mr Srinivasan sticking to his chair? It is nauseating’—anyone else would have heeded its authority. But not Srinivasan. He let the two days pass, and had his counsel suggest that he would temporarily step aside, but not step down as President.

In many ways, this was typical Srinivasan—to ride roughshod over opposition and dismiss public sentiments. Last year, when the betting and spot-fixing scandal broke out and his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, among others, was arrested for involvement, Srinivasan refused to resign, despite ethical concerns and mounting pressure. Instead, he got a suspicious BCCI-appointed probe panel—which the Bombay High Court later termed illegal—to investigate the matter, stepping aside temporarily to give the panel a veneer of fairness. Unsurprisingly, no evidence of foul play by Meiyappan was found, and Srinivasan was back at the helm. Despite all this, Srinivasan seemed to have gotten over the setbacks when, later that year, he was elected back to power in the BCCI and the TNCA (Tamil Nadu Cricket Association), which he has now won for a record 12th time in a row. He was even eyeing the post of ICC chief.

Srinivasan has ruled the BCCI, and by extension Indian cricket, like an empire. He has risen from TNCA cricket administrator to BCCI President by embracing the powerful and dropping those who outlived their use. He has, at different times, curried favour with former BCCI Presidents AC Muthiah, Jagmohan Dalmiya and Sharad Pawar. Muthiah, who got Srinivasan into cricket administration, is today his most vocal critic. And his empire has been built on a model of largesse and patronage. Commentators like Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri have been given plum BCCI contracts, and if rumours are to be believed, they are disallowed from talking about team selection during India’s matches on air.

He has also built a terrible culture within the BCCI, amending rules to suit his fancy, and employing cricketers in his private business. The SC has thus ruled that no employee of India Cements, a firm Srinivasan owns, can be associated with the BCCI or the IPL. Apart from Srinivasan, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Indian bowler R Ashwin, both of whom play for CSK, and Sunder Raman, who runs the IPL, are India Cement employees. .

He had so far refused to see any conflict of interest in India Cements owning an IPL team, CSK, while he governed the IPL tournament as BCCI President. But this time, not only will Srinivasan in all likelihood have to relinquish his post, his role, along with those close to him, in the IPL betting racket, will also be scrutinised. The SC is deliberating a report by the Mudgal panel, which according to media reports, indicts Meiyappan in the betting scandal, along with six unnamed cricketers playing in the national team. The details of the report prepared by this court-appointed panel have so far been held back from the public.

About The Author

Lhendup G Bhutia

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