At two volumes and 169 pages the Justice Mudgal report into the allegations of betting and corruption in the sixth season of the IPL, can be a bit of a heavy read. So we are grateful for the headlines over the last few days which have succinctly informed us of the crashing conflict of interests in the BCCI and the grubby presence of fixing.
Indian cricket is in a dreadful state under the stewardship of N Srinivasan who commands the BCCI, Chennai Super Kings and Indian Cements. It is an unholy trinity which could very well threaten the future of the world game considering Srinivasan now, effectively, runs that as well.
Frankly, world cricket should be up in collective arms. That they are not more than hints of the powerful grip that Srinivasan holds.
There has been much coverage in the wake of the report's publication. But for students of the horrible side of the game the pages are still worth sifting through. And the morsels which can be picked out tantalise and, ultimately, leave a bitter taste.
So here are a few of the stories behind the report (although one I have left out for possible expose in a national newspaper). You should note that in bold are quotes lifted from the text and underneath are snippets prised from under the fingernails of this mucky business...
The committee has interacted with several persons who are listed below:
32 Mr N Srinivasan assisted by Mr Prasanna Kannan – President BCCI and director of India Cements
32 Mr N Srinivasan assisted by Mr Prasanna Kannan – President BCCI and director of India Cements
Kannan has been reported as being an employee of India Cements. He was also CFO of IPL and during this role sent apparent orders to the BCCI secretary with regard to the national team which were outside of traditional remit.
“The role of Gurunath Meiyappan in Chennai Super Kings Dhoni, Srinivasan and officials of India Cements took the stand that Mr Meiyappan had nothing to do with cricketing affairs of CSK and was a mere enthusiast.”
“The Committee in relation to IPL franchisees in general and Mr. Meiyappan in particular questioned Mr. Sundar Raman as to who an owner of a team is, to which he replied that the ownership structures of teams are in general ambiguous. Mr. Raman further stated that the term “owner” for the purpose of accreditation is loosely used and has no implication, while identifying an owner under the franchise agreement. He further stated that the status of an ultimate owner is not clear, but may be read as per the Franchise Agreement.”
Raman, COO of the IPL, was officious when it came to accreditation according to a source who worked in that department. “No one was more particular about accreditations and ensuring who the owner badges went to.”
“Mr. Raman also admitted that the IPL Governing Council had not made any effort to determine who the ultimate owners of the franchisees were.”
The source continues: “Each and every member of the Governing Council was clear on who the owners were and these were marked on all communication and discussions on franchise issues”.
“Mike Hussey a CSK cricketer in his book “Underneath the Southern Cross” had written at Page-197 about CSK as under: ‘Our owner was Indian 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 Wenels [sic], who was coach’.”
Hussey’s reputation in the game is impeccable. Why did Srinivasan initially say Gurunath was merely an “enthusiast” and then backtrack to claim ignorance of his role?
“The Committee feels that there is enough information available on record to indicate that a further investigation is required in respect of the match held at Jaipur, between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings on the 12.5.2013. The factors are as follows:
Factors that cast aspersions: Batting first no sixes were hit by CSK who otherwise have proven six hitters. Factors that indicate nothing was amiss: Teams tend to relax in matches which are of no consequence post qualification for the knock out semi-final grounds.”
This is the only instance in IPL and CLT20 history that a CSK batsman failed to hit a six.
Factors that cast aspersions: The Chennai Super Kings batting first were 89-1 in 11th over yet ended up with the modest total of 141 for 4. Factors that indicate nothing was amiss: Rajasthan Royals have generally won all matches at Jaipur as deposed by Anil Kumble.
A ludicrous suggestion under ‘nothing was amiss’. Rajasthan have not won all their matches in Jaipur. Kuble is understood to have voted for Srinivasan in previous elections. However, far more importantly there was a suspicious betting pattern on this match. Chennai’s good start and the odds could be proof of classic odds manipulation. On the Betfair innings runs market more than £22,000 was available at 1.09 to back 150 or more. It is well known that when five figures are available this constitutes Indian money. It is also rare indeed to see such massive amounts on such a market. However, throughout this IPL season there were a number of matches which would have raised the eyebrows of betting experts in terms of patterns on this market.
“Mr. Pradeep Magazine told us that even the agents had a number of conflicts of interest as these agents besides dealing with the players also dealt with the BCCI for their stadia advertisements, sponsorships amongst other things. This conflict of interest made BCCI’s stance with regard to these agents soft and BCCI tended to ignore a lot of discrepancies in its conduct with agents.”
Arun Pandey, MS Dhoni’s agent, manage the marketing of CSK. The same company (Rhiti Sports) also manages players in the India team. Until recently Dhoni had a stake in this company.
“The Committee is of the view that for the acts of betting by Mr. Meiyappan, which is further accentuated by the position he held in CSK, which was held by Mr. Meiyappan with the implicit approval of the franchisee owner India Cements, Mr. Meiyappan is in violation of Sections 2.2.1 and 2.14 the IPL Operational Rules for bringing the game in disrepute, Articles 2.2.1, 2.2.2, and 2.2.3 of the IPL Anti Corruption Code for his acts of betting and Articles 2.4.4 of the IPL Code of Conduct for Players and Team Officials, for bring disrepute to the game of cricket.”
Under the IPL franchise agreement just one of these violations would be enough to make the CSK franchise defunct.
“The names of the persons and allegations in view of the sensitive nature of the information are being provided separately in a sealed envelope.”
It is understood that the same players have also been named by Sreesanth, the India bowler, in his interrogation by Delhi police. He stated that these players have been given flats, money and gifts by corruptors.”
“When the committee asked the ICC-ACSU for the required information that was in its possession, Mr. Y.P. Singh, the Director of ICC-ACSU, informed the Committee that information was available with Mr. N.S. Virk, the regional security officer and when Mr. Virk was contacted he stated that the said information if any, was not within his knowledge and was available with Mr. Y.P. Singh. Hence the Committees felt the officers of the ICC-ACSU were not very forthcoming.”
Damning for the ACSU. It is known that at least one the ‘sealed envelope players’ has been investigated by the ACSU.
“2. Need for stringent and effective control on Player’ Agents.
The Committee received several recommendations that the agents of the players needed to be investigated in order to get to the root of this problem of match fixing and spot fixing.”
IPL officials have cancelled accreditations and barred some player agents from being present in the dug out or even at the ground. Lalit Modi, the founder of IPL, has also said that he barred player agents and had to speak to several ‘superstar’ players about the unwanted influence of agents.
