Even as the Supreme Court wants him to do so, N. Srinivasan is not stepping down as president, according to Board of Control for Cricket in India vice-president Shivlal Yadav. The BCCI will now await a court verdict on the embattled Chennai Super Kings team owner on Thursday.
Yadav on Wednesday said: “BCCI will wait for the top court’s order to decide its future course of action.” Yadav, according to the BCCI’s rules, could step in as president should Srinivasan quit.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court asked him to step down to ensure a fair probe of the Indian Premier League fixing and betting scandal. Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, who was a team official of Chennai Super Kings, has been indicted by a Supreme Court-appointed inquiry committee for betting and sharing team information.
On Wednesday, Srinivasan reportedly said: “No one can force me out of BCCI. I have done nothing wrong.” Pressure has been rising on Srinivasan with three BCCI vice-presidents joining former cricketers in asking him to resign and respect the Supreme Court mood.
After going through the contents of a report filed in a sealed cover by apex court-appointed probe panel, a bench headed by Justice A K Patnaik said there are “very very serious” allegations made in the report and unless the BCCI president steps down, no fair probe can be conducted. “Why is Srinivasan sticking to his chair? If you don’t step down, then we will pass the order,” Justice Patnaik said. The case will come up for hearing on Thursday.
In June last year, Srinivasan had decided to step aside in the wake of investigations launched into spot-fixing in 2013 Indian Premier League. Jagmohan Dalmiya was the interim chief till the time the probe was on. “My resignation will set a bad precedent,” Srinivasan had reportedly said then.
