Srinivasan has cataract surgery, mum about SC observation

Board of Control for Cricket in India president N Srinivasan, who had cataract surgery on Wednesday, continues to remain silent on the Supreme Court observation that he should step down to facilitate a fair probe into IPL betting and spot-fixing scandal.

His legal counsel, P S Raman, met him at his residence but declined to speak on the issue.

"He [Srinivasan] had a cataract operation in the other eye this morning. I have come to meet him because of that. It is only a courtesy call," he told reporters.

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Asked specifically whether Srinivasan was contemplating stepping down in view of the Supreme Court’s observation, he refused to comment.

It is also learnt that BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel, who was in the United Arab Emirates to oversee the arrangements for the upcoming Indian Premier League, has cut short his visit and is expected to meet Srinivasan during the day to decide the future course of action.

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Srinivasan's continued silence has raised speculation that he may not resign immediately but wait for the hearing to resume on Thursday before taking a final decision.

The court, which had, on Tuesday, asked the BCCI chief why he is sticking to the chair, has given Srinivasan 48 hours to quit on his own. It if he does not, it will pass an order for his removal.

After going through the contents of a report filed in a sealed cover by apex court-appointed probe panel into the scandal, a bench, headed by Justice A K Patnaik, said there are "very very serious" allegations made in the report and unless the BCCI president steps down, no fair probe can be conducted.

Three of five BCCI vice-presidents -- Shivlal Yadav, Ravi Sawant and Chitrak Mitra – have put pressure on Srinivasan by saying that he should honour the Supreme Court's observation.

Srinivasan had stepped aside in June 2013 after his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan's name cropped up in the spot-fixing scandal, which led to former India pacer Shantakumaran Sreesanth and his two other Rajasthan Royals colleagues being banned from the game.

In his absence, former BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya discharged the duties of the president.

However, at the BCCI Annual General Meeting in September 2013, Srinivasan was re-elected as president.

The Supreme Court had appointed a three-member probe panel, led by retired judge Justice Mukul Mudgal, to investigate the betting and spot-fixing saga. The apex court-appointed panel replaced the BCCI's own two-man probe panel, which had exonerated Meiyappan of any wrongdoing following which its verdict was challenged in the courts.

Image: N Srinivasan