The International Cricket Council (ICC) is reported to have warned the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about Chennai Super King’s owner Gurunath Meiyappan’s frequent interactions with bookies during the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
According to TV reports, the transcripts of conversations between Meiyappan and small time actor Vindoo Dara Singh have revealed Meiyappan telling Vindoo that ICC had warned the BCCI about his spot-fixing trade offs.
The transcripts have revealed that Meiyappan had a huge role to play in giving orders to Vindoo. He gave out instructions of bets on specific runs in an over. It is also revealed that someone in the BCCI had tipped off Meiyappan regarding the ICC warning, which in itself is a crime under Indian law.
Meanwhile, BCCI Joint Secretary Anurag Thakur on Friday said under-fire President N Srinivasan could soon convene a meeting of the Board to discuss the fallout of the IPL spot-fixing scam that has created a credibility crisis in Indian cricket. “I have spoken to the President and the Secretary (Sanjay Jagdale) and requested both to call a meeting where every member should get a chance to present his views and discuss the punishment for those guilty,” Thakur told reporters here.
“A meeting has to be called by the President and Secretary. It’s a not a numbers game. Very soon, the BCCI Secretary and the President will call a meeting, we have to wait,” he said. Srinivasan is drawing flak from all quarters for not stepping down even as his son-in-law Meiyappan remains behind bars for alleged involvement in betting. Asked if Srinivasan should quit, Thakur was evasive.
“Everybody wants a fair probe and that is why we have two retired judges and the BCCI secretary probing the matter.
When two judges are there, you can be assured that the inquiry would be fair,” he said. Thakur, however, admitted that Indian cricket’s image has taken a massive beating. “No doubt cricket is shaken because it is a question of the faith of crores,” he said. (ANI)