Without giving any opinion on the merits of the allegations against BCCI president N. Srinivasan, the Supreme Court on Friday appointed the former India skipper, Sunil Gavaskar, as the interim president of the board to discharge the functions of the Indian Premier League 2014 until its final order on the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal.
A Bench of Justices A.K. Patnaik and Ibrahim Kalifulla, however, permitted both Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals to participate in this year’s IPL that commences on April 16.
“We make it clear that we have not passed any order preventing any player or any team from participating in the IPL tournament 2014.”
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“Considering the fact that Mr. Sunil Gavaskar was a cricket player of great repute and eminence, a captain of the Indian cricket team and has wide experience in cricket-related activities, we appoint him president of the BCCI in relation to IPL 2014,” it observed.
The court directed that other responsibilities of the board be performed by BCCI vice-president Shivlal Yadav.
The Bench said, “We also direct that till we deliver the judgment, none of the employees of India Cements Limited or its associate companies [except cricket players or commentators] will perform any of the duties assigned to them by the BCCI.”
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Appearing for the BCCI, senior counsel Aryama Sundaram took exception to the allegations levelled by senior counsel Harish Salve, appearing for the Cricket Association of Bihar, against India captain M.S. Dhoni.
Mr. Salve had argued that Mr. Dhoni gave a false statement that Gurunath Meiyappan, Mr. Srinivasan’s son-in-law , was only a cricket enthusiast.