Without giving any opinion on the merits of the allegations against Board of Control for Cricket in India President N. Srinivasan, the Supreme Court on Friday appointed former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar as the interim president of the board "to discharge the functions of the Indian Premier League 2014 until its final order on the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal," according to J. Venkatesan of THE HINDU. The court said, “We make it clear that we have not passed any order preventing any player or any team from participating in the IPL tournament 2014.” The court directed that other responsibilities of the board be performed by BCCI VP Shivlal Yadav. The Bench said, “We also direct that till we deliver the judgment, none of the employees of India Cements Limited or its associate companies [except cricket players or commentators] will perform any of the duties assigned to them by the BCCI” (THE HINDU, 3/28). The PTI reported the BCCI "welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision" not to suspend the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals from the IPL and said the order to make Sunil Gavaskar interim president was “acceptable” to the Board. BCCI VP Rajeev Shukla said, “We have no objection to the Supreme Court order. The BCCI lawyers have also said that the order is acceptable. The good thing is that all eight teams will play in this year’s IPL. IPL will go on and there will be no hindrance” (PTI, 3/28).
SERIOUS BUSINESS: In India, G. Viswanath reported Gavaskar "will get down to serious business" after a meeting with BCCI Secretary Sanjay Patel, IPL Governing Council Chair Ranjib Biswal, IPL CEO Sundar Raman, and BCCI Game Development GM Ratnakar Shetty, in Dubai on Monday. Gavaskar: "Like with cricket, I will give it my best shot.” Patel "expressed happiness" at the court’s ruling that allowed Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals to take part in the eight-team league (THE HINDU, 3/28).
A 'CLEAN' IPL: In Mumbai, Vijay Tagore reported Shivlal Yadav, "the man in charge of Indian cricket at the moment," said "clean" IPL matches "are his priority but insists that the BCCI doesn't deserve flak for the recent mess."
Q: What does Indian cricket need at this point?
Yadav: At the outset, we need to have clean IPL matches. There should not be any hanky-panky business. Players should enjoy cricket and play in the true spirit of the game.
Q: There is a perception that you are a BCCI lightweight and N. Srinivasan can easily remote control you.
Yadav: Not at all. The court has made it very clear that he (Srinivasan) has to step aside. So there is no question of him being active. I don't think he will interfere in my work and duties. He also knows that there is a court order and he will not interfere needlessly.
Q: Given the recent controversies surrounding the Indian captain MS Dhoni, will you have a dialogue with him?
Yadav: Of course, I will do that. As the BCCI president, my duty is to address the issues concerning the Indian captain. I can't say when I will meet him but I will talk to him soon.
Q: Do you agree that Dhoni's credibility has suffered?
Yadav: I better not talk about that because I'm not sure what the issues are. There are only allegations and, at this stage, it will not be prudent on my part to express my opinion. I would like to know more about this matter (MUMBAI MIRROR, 3/30).
PROBE STARTING: In Mumbai, Saibal Bose reported Rajasthan Police are "all set to start investigation into an FIR filed by Mehmood Abdi, alleging that the IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings played at Sawai Mansingh Stadium on May 12 last year was fixed." Abdi, in his FIR at the Jyotinagar Police Station filed on Nov. 1, "had alleged that some Chennai Super Kings players, including skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina, had deliberately under-performed" (TIMES OF INDIA, 3/30).
WET CEMENT: The Indian BUSINESS STANDARD reported the Supreme Court ordered that Srinivasan "should step aside from the chairmanship" of BCCI and "no one associated with India Cements or its related companies will be associated with BCCI." The stock closed 9.18% up at the Bombay Stock Exchange. So "why are Indian Cement shareholders happy?" Two reasons: "One, Chennai Super Kings, in which Indian Cement has invested in, has not been relegated" from the IPL. Two, analysts and brokerages "have been saying for some time that the company has an over-diversified portfolio" (BUSINESS STANDARD, 3/28).
