Senior cricket Board functionaries have shied away from being named into the three-man commission named on Tuesday to investigate the alleged involvement of BCCI president N Srinivasan's son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan in the betting and spot fixing scandal.
With most of the officials in the Indian Twenty20 league's operations committee reluctant to take up the job — the norm is to have two from the panel and an independent member — the board, in a statement, announced retired high court judges, Justices T Jayaram Chouta and R Balasubramaniam to the panel. BCCI secretary, Sanjay Jagdale, is the other member.
The announcement came hours after senior BCCI functionary and central minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, asked Srinivasan to step down on grounds of propriety as his close relative was under police investigation. “Srinivasan should certainly step aside,” he said.
The panel would go into complaints against Gurunath Meiyappan, the senior Chennai Super Kings functionary whose links with actor Vindoo Dara Singh is the focus of the Mumbai crime branch investigation, CSK owners India Cements as well as the owners of Rajasthan Royals, whose three players were arrested for alleged spot fixing.
Srinivasan had on Sunday, while refusing to step down despite his son-in-law's involvement, had said two of the commission members would come from the T20 league's operations committee -- comprising league chairman Rajeev Shukla, BCCI treasurer Ajay Shirke, vice-president Arun Jaitley, Jagdale and former India skipper Ravi Shastri. However, BCCI sources said most of the operations panel officials were reluctant to join the panel.
{{/usCountry}}Srinivasan had on Sunday, while refusing to step down despite his son-in-law's involvement, had said two of the commission members would come from the T20 league's operations committee -- comprising league chairman Rajeev Shukla, BCCI treasurer Ajay Shirke, vice-president Arun Jaitley, Jagdale and former India skipper Ravi Shastri. However, BCCI sources said most of the operations panel officials were reluctant to join the panel.
{{/usCountry}}Demanding ouster
Scindia, president of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, became the first senior Board functionary to ask Srinivasan to step down.
“In the interest of propriety and in the interest of the game at this point of time when there is a question mark surrounding an individual, a team and the manager of that team who happens to be a family member, I believe in all sense of the word, propriety, Srinivasan must step aside.”
Scindia said the board should take responsibility for the mess Indian cricket was in due to the spot-fixing scandal and must take corrective steps.