No proof against Gurunath, Kundra, says BCCI probe panel

KOLKATA/NEW DELHI: Exactly 58 days after he "stepped aside" as BCCI president, the decks have been cleared for N Srinivasan's return to the helm of the richest cricket body in the world.

A report submitted by a two-member panel that probed allegations of betting and spot-fixing against Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, India Cements Ltd (owner of Chennai Super Kings) and Jaipur IPL Pvt Ltd (owner of Rajasthan Royals), found no direct evidence of wrongdoing on the part of any party. The panel consisted of two former judges of the Tamil Nadu high court, Jayaram Chouta and R Balasubramanian.

The gist of the panel's report was shared with members of the BCCI working Committee by 'caretaker' board head Jagmohan Dalmiya and interim secretary Sanjay Patel at a meeting in Kolkata on Sunday.

The report gave an inconclusive reference to Meiyappan's alleged involvement in betting on IPL matches. The same could not be established because of alleged non-cooperation on the part of Mumbai Police, which had booked him for the offence, the report says.

"The report clearly said that Meiyappan may or may not have been involved. There is no proof available against him in front of the probe committee to accuse him of betting in IPL matches," a source close to the development told TOI on Sunday.

At a press conference held here on May 26, the day after the IPL final, Srinivasan had described his son-in-law merely as a CSK "enthusiast".

Rajasthan Royals' co-owner Raj Kundra -- who was accused of placing bets in IPL matches through his close aide (Umesh Goenka) -- was also cleared by the probe panel, on the ground that Goenka had retracted his statement.

The report's virtual clean chit means that Srinivasan, who had "stepped aside" from the BCCI president's post pending the completion of the inquiry, is now free to return to the hot seat. Whether he warms up to it immediately, or waits till August 2 when the IPL Governing Council meets in New Delhi to further discuss the report, remains to be seen.

"The Governing Council will examine the report and take a decision. A copy of the report will be made public in due course," Dalmiya said.

The council's decision will have to be ratified by the Working Committee, which will again meet on the same day.

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So much so for all the media hype about the whole sham of "in-house" investigation...

Asked who will be chairing the next Working Committee meeting, Dalmiya said, "Let Mr Srinivasan decide," signalling the end of his own brief 'comeback' at the helm of the cricket Board.

Sources in the 24-member BCCI working committee said they had no idea whom the two former judges had summoned to depose before them. There is also no clarity on the list of documents that was made available to them, particularly those related to Meiyappan and his alleged links with India Cements and CSK.

The fact that Sunday's working committee meeting failed to take a decision on the scheduling issues during India's proposed tour of South Africa later this year and the members were also kept in the dark about the disciplinary committee's report on Lalit Modi, also points to Srinivasan's imminent return at the helm of BCCI's affairs.

One of Srinivasan's first tasks will be to lock eyeballs with Cricket South Africa's new CEO Haroon Lorgat in a bid to redraw the Indian team's itinerary for the South African safari. The CSA has announced a schedule of three Tests, seven ODIs and two T20 Internationals against India but the BCCI wants a shorter tour and fewer matches.

Indications are that Srinivasan also wants to handle the Modi issue himself. Arun Jaitley and Jyotiraditya Scinda, who probed Modi's alleged misdeeds as IPL chairman, have submitted their report and the same has been forwarded to the BCCI's legal committee. Once vetted by the legal eagles, the matter will be placed before a specially convened meeting of BCCI's general body. If found guilty, Modi could be banned for life if such a resolution is passed by a 34ths majority in a house that has 31 voting members.

Under the present circumstances, sources said that an election in the BCCI AGM is now inevitable to decide the next BCCI president. Srinivasan, who will complete two years in the BCCI top job, will have to contest again to get another year's extension.