N Srinivasan should have stepped down long before, says IS Bindra

N Srinivasan at a media gathering

Former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president IS Bindra feels that the current chief N Srinivasan should have resigned long before.

The Supreme Court made the decision that N Srinivasan should step down from his post for the easy going of the investigation of the Indian Premier League (IPL) fixing scandal.

“My view was very clear from last one year. In the first meeting in Chennai I had said the same thing. I have been writing in my blog. He should have resigned long time back. He decided to continue and now it has reached a stage where the Supreme Court had to intervene,” Bindra said.

“I fully agree with the apex court’s observation that till Srinivasan is not removed, the real truth of match-fixing saga will not be revealed and the main culprits will not be brought to justice.”

“Most importantly, image of cricket will not improve. The longer he takes to vacate the chair, the longer it will take to regain confidence of fans and stakeholders. I appeal to all right-thinking BCCI officials to stand and be counted.”

“IPL needs an urgent cleansing process. It requires a concerted effort from top to bottom. But it seems that there is just no will to cleanse the sport or improve the image of the tournament. Everyone is happy with the money being doled out to the various associations through the process of IPL.”

Bindra supports Shashank Manohar who is another former BCCI President who called for suspension of IPL 7 to be held this year till the culprits involved in the fixing scandal are not found out.

“I wholeheartedly support Shashank Manohar’s suggestion to cancel IPL 7 this year till the mess is cleaned up. We can re-assemble in 2015 once the tournament is cleared of the unwanted elements. With so many doubts and questions around the tournament’s integrity, the players and officials’ integrity, it is better to not have the tournament this year.”

He also supported Manohar’s view against holding first leg of this season’s IPL next month in United Arab Emirates.

“Manohar has made a valid point. Why hold IPL in the hotbed of fixing, Sharjah? As BCCI president and later as a senior member I was party to the boycott of the venue, which I believed was the epicenter of nefarious activities in cricket.

“In a policy announcement, the government of India had refused permission to the Indian cricket team to play in Sharjah and advised the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) not to participate in these ‘non-regular venues’ especially Sharjah.

“I think, we still have time and we can still pull matches out of Sharjah. This IPL provides a backdoor entry for Sharjah to be accepted by one and all.

“It is a sad day for Indian cricket, Indian cricket has been brought to this far by Srinivasan and some of his friends in the Board. It is unfortunate for Indian cricket and it gets bad name for Indian cricket, such sorry state that highest court had to intervene,” he concluded.