Beleaguered BCCI president N Srinivasan made an emphatic statement of intent on Sunday, saying he was not quitting his post.
The last few days were tough for Srinivasan, with pressure mounting on him to step down, especially after the arrest of his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal. There were whispers that within the BCCI there were talks of removing him. Srinivasan crushed all speculation by saying he had done no wrong.
Addressing a media conference in Kolkata, Srinivasan said: “I wish to assure the cricketing world there is no rebellion against me and there’s unity in the BCCI. I’ve not been asked by anybody to resign. On the contrary, my support is complete and I refuse to yield to unfair and motivated attacks. I intend to continue my duties as president of the BCCI.”
Sources in Kolkata said that within the BCCI, antipathy towards Srinivasan was building but it died down by Saturday in the absence of a leader. In other words, there was no heavyweight to lead a movement against Srinivasan. By surviving the test of his life, the under-pressure BCCI chief has made sure that he can complete his two-year term in September and seek an extension (of one year) if he wants.
To a query on how the BCCI was responding to allegations against his son-in-law Gurunath, Srinivasan said the board is setting up a commission to investigate the matter and added that he himself will not be part of it. The three-member commission will consist of members of the IPL Operations Committee and a person independent of the BCCI.
Srinivasan said he will have no role in the appointment of the independent member. The members of the Operations Committee are Arun Jaitley, Rajiv Shukla, Sanjay Jagdale and Ravi Shastri.