Two senior officials of the Indian cricket board strongly defended the clean chit the two-member probe panel gave to Chennai Super Kings team principal Gurunath Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra in the spot fixing and betting scandal in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Board vice-president Niranjan Shah and treasurer Ravi Savant blamed the lack of co-operation from the Mumbai police, who had arrested Meiyappan, and the panel had to go by whatever information they could muster.
Shah said the BCCI cannot depend on the police report. “I think we can’t depend on police report as we had already constituted a commission and whatever the commission said is final.
I think BCCI can’t do anything about it (on reports that Mumbai Police didn’t co-operate with panel) as we have no control over it. So, we have to live with whatever material available to us,” Shah told NDTV. Shah, however, said if Meiyappan or Kundra are found guilty then BCCI will take immediate action.
Savant said since nothing has been found against Meiyappan, Srinivasan can continue as the BCCI president.u00a0“The decision of the BCCI working committee was that Srinivasan would sit out till the probe report is out.
No evidence has been found against Gurunath Meiyappan, so Mr. Srinivasan will resume his post,” Savant told reporters in Mumbai. Savant also insisted that the Board should only go by the probe panel’s report. “No point waiting for the police to finish their investigation. Now that the probe is complete, it is only fair that Srinivasan must return as president.”u00a0
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