IPL spot-fixing scandal: Srinivasan gets clean chit, may return as BCCI chief

KOLKATA: BCCI president-in-exile N Srinivasan seems set to return to the helm of affairs after a two-judge probe panel found no evidence against his team Chennai Super Kings in the T20 spot-fixing and betting scandal which rocked the sixth edition of the event.

The panel submitted its report to the BCCI Working Committee which met on Sunday, which cleared the decks for the Tamil Nadu strongman to make a comeback.

The panel was mandated to enquire into the roles of Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, who was the Team Prinicipal of Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and its co-owner Raj Kundra.

There is no evidence of any wrongdoing found by the judges against Raj Kundra, India Cements and Rajasthan Royals and the report will now be forwarded to the IPL Governing Council which will take a final decision when it meets on August 2 in New Delhi," BCCI vice-president Niranjan Shah told reporters.

Addressing a brief press conference, BCCI interim chief Jagmohan Dalmiya said that the inquiry report will be forwarded to the IPL Governing Council as per the operational rules of the Board.

Asked whether India Cements have been given a clean chit in the report, he said, The final call will be taken in the IPL GC meeting.

It will be discussed in the proper forum which is the IPL GC. The GC will examine the report and accordingly will take a decision. The copy of the report will be made public in due course, he said.

There was no clarity on Srinivasans son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan's role in the scandal and it is learnt that the inquiry commission has not given him a clean chit.

The IPL spot-fixing scandal broke out when India pacer Shantakumaran Sreesanth, along with two other Rajasthan Royals players Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan and 11 bookies, was arrested for alleged spot-fixing in last T20 season.

The contracts of the tainted players were terminated by their franchise, which also lodged a criminal complaint against them.

It snowballed into a crisis for the BCCI when board president N Srinivasan's son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings Team Principal Meiyappan was arrested on charges of betting on May 26.151Agencies