Betting Saga: BCCI Clears Srinivasan And Sundar Raman

The BCCI has said allegations against its President N. Srinivasan, are baseless and has given him a clean chit in the IPL betting saga after its working committee reviewed the Mudgal report at a meeting in Chennai. It also decided to not take any action against IPL chief operating officer Sundar Raman

“The BCCI is certainly trying to protect its own, it chiefs. This is happening concurrently with the deferment of its annual general meeting (AGM) and elections. Srinivasan wants to stand for the elections again to become President,” sports journalist and commentator Ayaz Memon said on Boom News’s show #Cricket-O-Mania.

“There needs to be a professional manager or ombudsman running the BCCI. India badly needs a Players’ Association,” Memon further added.

The Mudgal report into the IPL spot-fixing case stated that Srinivasan, along with four other BCCI officials, knew about an IPL player violating the code of conduct, but took no action. On November 24, Raman will have to respond to the Mudgal report charges in the Supreme Court.

“This incident provides an opportunity to look at how all sports bodies are run in India. Enough of running 21^st century sports with a 19^th century style (of administration). It is an excellent opportunity to make IPL a separate entity from the BCCI,” said Chandresh Narayanan, a former ICC media officer.

“All is not wrong with the IPL. Shutting it down is not the solution. An independent governing council almost akin to a Board of Directors composed of the team owners and former players is required. The Indian police needs to have more power to man the stadiums and matches,” suggests Narayanan.

“The SC has the final order. The BCCI may clear everybody but in the end it’s up to the SC. BCCI’s biggest aim or attempt now should be to restore the faith of people in them,” Memon concludes.