A mistake to allow Srini to buy CSK, says Sawant

Senior administrators and former players asked the BCCI to abide by the suggestions of the Supreme Court as it attempts to clean up the game.

BCCI Vice-President Ravi Sawant said Board president N Srinivasan should not have been allowed to buy the Chennai Super Kings team in the IPL on the ground of conflict of interest.

“The first mistake was to have allowed Srinivasan to buy Chennai Super Kings. There is conflict of interest. He should not have been allowed to buy CSK at that time,” he said.
Sawant said the Board will have to act according to the Supreme Court order. “The SC has given just one day and it has said it will pass its interim order on Friday. So there is no time to call an emergency meeting of the Board. Whatever the SC says in its order, we will have to abide by it. There is no other way,” he added.

Former treasurer Ajay Shirke blamed the BCCI members for bringing the Board to such a pass. “We have to wait for the SC’s order but this is of great sorrow. I am extremely sad to see this day dawn upon an institution which has weathered 75-odd years of ups and downs and have come up on top several times,” he said.

“I think here we have a case where our president feels he is absolutely right and has done nothing wrong. That is his perception but the perception of the media and the entire world is different,” he said. “I think the members have brought this situation upon BCCI and unless they really sit down and introspect and unless we do that it’s going to be very difficult.”

Meanwhile former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has backed former BCCI President Shashank Manohar on his views on the scandal-tainted league. “I completely agree with Mr Shashank Manohar and his observations on the fact that the serious allegations regarding betting, spot-fixing and match-fixing have seriously tarnished the image of the game and importantly, the fans are slowly but surely starting to lose faith in the IPL and game at large,” Modi said.