With the Supreme Court revealing the names of some big-shot "non-playing actors" who were interrogated and who may have committed "misdemeanours" by directly or indirectly indulging in betting and spot-fixing, the fate of the Indian Premier League, which brought unimaginable money, glamour and fame to the players and the game, is in danger.
The SC on Friday named four senior officials who were probed by the Justice Mukul Mudgal Committee. The panel was investigating allegations against 13 persons. The names revealed are N Srinivasan, Indian cricket's uncrowned king and former BCCI president who is seeking another term, his son-in-law and former Chennai Super Kings team principal Gurunath Meiyappan, Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra, and IPL chief operating officer and Srinivasan's Man Friday Sundar Raman.
The SC also, accidentally, named three cricketers but later requested these names should not made public. The four named will have to file their responses/objections to the report within four days. This will be heard on November 24.
It cannot be said that all four named have been fully indicted as of now by the committee. "Certain findings recorded by the committee are understood to have indicted some individuals against whose conduct investigations have been conducted. The report also deals with the conduct of the players who are, for the present, being held back," the bench, headed by Justice TS Thakur, observed. The court did not give any other details.
It is now clear that the IPL is in a total mess, and, to make matters worse, the BCCI itself has now been compromised since its sidelined president has been named.
Apart from the IPL, the BCCI, too, is at the moment headless after Srinivasan was earlier asked by the SC to step aside till the issue is heard. The BCCI's AGM, which was scheduled to be held on November 20, has now been postponed by another four weeks.
Indian cricket has never been in such a sorry state. The finger points to one man — Srinivasan — whose ruthless ambition has been at the root cause of all the problems faced by the IPL and BCCI.
The question now is can the IPL continue into its eighth year after the owners of two franchises — Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals — have been named as suspects in betting and spot-fixing.
Clause 11.3 of the IPL franchise agreement states that a franchise can be immediately scrapped if "any franchisee group company and/or any owner acts in any way which has a material adverse effect upon the reputation or standing of the league". Even with what is known, both these franchises can be terminated.
If CSK and RR are dumped (which is likely now), shouldn't the IPL itself be scrapped and revamped?
"The SC has named Srinivasan, his son-in-law, and the chief operating officer of the IPL and the owner of another franchise. How credible, then, is the IPL? I hope the other names, that of the players, are also made public. Be it the 2G scam or the Coalgate scam, we know the names of the persons involved. In the same way, we ought to know whosoever is involved in the spot-fixing and betting scandal. Who knows, some of those named in the report could be on the plane to Australia next week," former India all-rounder and BJP MP Kirti Azad said.
For IPL's founder and former commissioner Lalit Modi, who has relentlessly fought against Srinivasan and his coterie, said the SC decision is "momentous".
"Today is a day of momentous proportions, Finally, money power and mafia power are no match to the honourable Supreme Court. Truth prevails. Thank you, Justice Mudgal. Now it's time to cleanse mafia stranglehold on ICC, BCCI.. All named in the report should be locked up for doing what they did. Examples have to be made. Check the amount of public money spent on this," Modi told a TV channel.
Given that the AGM cannot be held anytime soon, the BCCI will remain headless in its time of biggest crises. The IPL, too, does not have a chief, after Sunil Gavaskar's term as chief was limited to this year's edition.
The name of top cricketers involved in some way with spot-fixing will be known just as the Australian tour starts. At least two members of the team are likely to be in this black list and, in this case, the tour itself may be in jeopardy since the Australian board may seize the opportunity to cut the powerful BCCI down to size and may call for a cleansing of the game in the country. And the man with all the guile and cunning who ruthlessly ran the game, may be banished from the game.
It's really not the right time to play cricket.
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