His integrity might have been questioned several times ever since the IPL spot-fixing scandal broke out but BCCI president N. Srinivasan says he is a “very honest” man, who was “unfairly attacked” at the peak of the controversy that shook Indian cricket.
Mr. Srinivasan, who was recently given the go ahead to take charge as BCCI President by the Supreme Court, insisted that he was targetted by the media for no good reason.
“I am honest, very honest. And, I think my character has been seen in the last few months,” said the Tamil Nadu strongman in an interview to ESPNCricinfo.
Mr. Srinivasan’s name was dragged into the scandal when his son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings team principal Gurunath Meiyappan was arrested for alleged betting in the IPL.
Mr. Meiyappan has since been charge-sheeted in the case.
Asked how he reacted when the Supreme Court allowed him to take charge, he said, “I was pleased. People who have known me for a long time will believe what I say, in the sense that I am a person who was focussed on what to do next.”
“I don’t carry any grudges or have any such feelings at all. That’s how I am. People who have known me for years will attest to it. I will just move on. This happened, okay, fine, I dealt with it, I am glad, I am back, I go on,” he added.
When questioned on the issue of propriety and the public opinion, Mr. Srinivasan remained defiant. “See, I can’t do anything about that (public opinion). It doesn’t affect me. It doesn’t affect me because when I am not in BCCI, I will not merit one line in any newspaper, so why must I worry about the 20 lines now?” he asked.
Mr. Srinivasan reiterated that he never interfered in the functioning of the BCCI probe panel, which was later deemed illegal by the Bombay High Court, to investigate the IPL scandal.
