New Delhi: The clamour for embattled BCCI President N Srinivasan’s resignation in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal continued to grow on Thursday with Goa and Assam cricket associations joining the chorus for his ouster even as Union Minister Sachin Pilot called for a “thorough probe” to restore the credibility of the game.
Srinivasan might have claimed that the Board is firmly behind him but the tide seems to be turning against him in the last couple of days with more Board officials asking him to “stay away” until the investigations are complete.
Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, who is Team Principal of Chennai Super Kings, the IPL franchise owned by the BCCI boss, is currently behind bars for alleged involvement in betting.
“The spot fixing scandal has sullied the name of cricket and hurt the feeling of people who are fondly attached to the game…an inquiry has been ordered into the scandal and I am confident that it will hold thorough probe to regain confidence of people towards lovely game of cricket,” Pilot, the Corporate Affairs minister, said in Patna.
After Jyotiraditya Scindia raised the first voice of dissent on Tuesday, more and more Board and state unit officials are coming on record to express their displeasure over Srinivasan’s continuance.
“He has to resign, there is no other option. How can you continue when your son-in-law is involved, he is involved with CSK, it is just not possible to have an impartial probe till he resigns,” said Goa Cricket Association vice-President Shekhar Salkar.
“For the sake of BCCI’s credibility, in my personal opinion, he should resign till the probe is on. If it is declared that he did nothing wrong and he is proved innocent than he can come back as BCCI President. But at least till the probe is complete, he should step down,” Salkar said.
His views were seconded by Assam Cricket Association President Gautam Roy.
“In the interest of fairness, he should step aside till the investigation is on. That is my personal opinion,” Roy said.
A three-member BCCI commission, comprising two retired judges, is probing the allegations against Meiyappan separately and Srinivasan has stated that he would have no role in its functioning and the report it would come out with.
On Wednesday night, BCCI Treasurer Ajay Shirke had also sought Srinivasan’s ouster saying, “If I was in his place, I would step away from the inquiry. I mean step down till the inquiry is done.”
“The credibility of the Board and the perception in which it is operating is taking a beating and increasingly so. Given the continuous media speculation and the resulting damage to the image of the board, it is important that this is put to rest”, he said.
On Thursday, Shirke said that he will decide, within a few days, whether it is best for him to quit altogether.
“If Board continues to ignore what I consider is primary responsibility, I will find it difficult for myself to be associated with it,” Shirke was quoted as saying. “I will wait and see. A few days, maybe within a week, I will make up my mind. I cannot let my personal reputation and credibility be tarnished,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Home Ministry said it has not received any request from the BCCI or any other quarters to probe the conduct of all the 75 IPL matches in the wake of spot-fixing and betting allegations. (PTI)