Will Mudgal committee report on IPL spot-fixing finally help stir Indian cricket into action?

N Srinivasan has been cleared by the Mudgal committee of any wrongdoing

The committee chaired by Justice Mukul Mudgal has brought four important points to the fore: International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman and sidelined Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Narayanaswami Srinivasan was not involved in any fixing activity, nor did he fiddle with the investigation into corruption in the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the league, Sundar Raman, knew a bookie and contacted the latter as many as eight times in one season. Raj Kundra, co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals, was “accused and charged with being in touch with bookies about betting", according to the report.

The most significant of the above compelling points is that Gurunath Meiyappan was indeed a Chennai Super Kings (CSK) official and not an “enthusiast” — a term brandished by the franchise and Srinivasan himself, post the emergence of details of his involvement in betting in 2013.

BCCI turned a blind eye to the entire mess: Mudgal committee

While this points to a cover-up by Srinivasan, then the BCCI president, the Mudgal report has shed light on another such instance, stating that he, alongside four BCCI officials, knew about an IPL player violating the code of conduct, but turned a blind eye to the situation.

The goings-on when the spot-fixing issue first surfaced called for stringent measures from within the BCCI, but when the chief himself was looking to paper over the crevices, there should have been a strong rebellion. However, only a handful pondered and pushed toward taking the right stance, but their voices, too, were duly suppressed.

Srinivasan, though, kept reiterating that he wasn’t being investigated, so there was no reason for him to move away from the helm. The fact that cover-up amounts to misdemeanour and that, in his position as caretaker of Indian cricket, it wasn’t morally the right thing to do perhaps never troubled him.

As per the rulebook, the CSK franchise should have been banned by the BCCI under Clause 11.3 (c) of the Franchise Agreement, which says a franchise may be terminated with immediate effect if “the Franchisee, 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, BCCI-IPL, BCCI, the Franchisee, the Team (or any other team in the League) and/or the game of cricket.”

Yet, to please the coffers, no such step was even contemplated within the confines of the boardrooms.

Regardless of the spin around Meiyappan being just an “enthusiast”, it is clear to many that he served in official capacity. Michael Hussey, in his book Underneath the Southern Cross, wrote as follows: “Our owner was India cements, headed by Mr. Srinivasan.

As he was also on the board of the BCCI, he gave control of the team to his son-in-law Mr. Gurunath. He ran the team along with Kepler Wessels, who was coach, and I assume one of the reasons they chose me to play for them.”

The Mudgal committee in the February of 2014, too, made statements along similar lines. The opportunity to set a precedence presented itself, yet the head honchos chose not to act.

The embarrassment caused at the time failed to have any major impact on the authorities. In the meanwhile, Srinivasan, although temporarily sidelined at home, took over the ICC reins. He seemed to have the rest of BCCI’s backing in every endeavour he undertook. A 12-point program called “Operation Clean-Up” that was drafted by the BCCI after the spot-fixing case, failed to take off months after its inception. It is now probably shelved.

The focus had shifted to the ICC, and other events took priority as this domestic issue slowly faded into obscurity even as the Mudgal committee chipped away in the background. A conundrum that was touted to shake the core of Indian cricket had not made a significant impact, against expectations, in its aftermath.

Will the BCCI ever restore its morality?

It is hence regrettable that despite this prolonged murky phase, much to the chagrin of followers of the sport, little has been done to restore faith by the other powers that be in the office.

People who continue to hold important posts still believe Srinivasan can do no wrong. In response to the latest Mudgal committee report, they apparently feel that the “allegations levelled against [Srinivasan] by unscrupulous elements were baseless and were aimed at destabilising the working” of the board.

The fact that they choose to safeguard the interests of one individual who’s so glaringly been a part of a cover-up, over the interest of sport, is baffling. Therefore, it leads to one question: if one of the biggest cases and accusations fails to clean Indian cricket’s dirty backyard, what will? Are the authorities going to be satisfied as long as the greens fill the coffers?