India cricket chief defies pressure to quit

Srinivasan temporarily steps down as BCCI president.

NEW DELHI: India’s cricket chief defied calls to quit over a betting scandal in the country’s top domestic competition but agreed to step aside to allow an investigation to take place, the board announced.

The move, a compromise negotiated by N Srinivasan at an emergency meeting, appeared unlikely to quell the controversy which has seen the country’s sports ministry call on him to resign.

Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was arrested on May 24 for allegedly taking part in illegal betting on the Indian Premier League (IPL) which is the subject of multiple police investigations.

Meiyappan is a business executive for IPL franchise, the Chennai Super Kings, which is owned by 68-year-old businessman Srinivasan who has headed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) since 2011.

“Mr Srinivasan announced that he will not discharge his duties as the president of the board till such time that the probe is completed,” said a statement after the meeting.

A top BCCI official, who did not want to be named, said the decision was not unanimous.

“I heard Srinivasan say the decision was unanimous ... it was anything but unanimous and all I can say at this time is that the last has not been heard about this,” said the official.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2013.