N Srinivasan refuses to comment on BCCI-WICB row; donates 1 crore to orphanage

N Srinivasan

Kolkata, Oct 26 (IANS) Even as a livid BCCI has decided to initiate legal proceedings against the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for abruptly cancelling its tour of India, its sidelined chief and ICC chairman N. Srinivasan, on Sunday, refused to comment on the issue.

"I am not the BCCI president. So I cannot comment on the issue," Srinivasan told media persons on the sidelines of a programme here.

Citing the matter as sub judice, he also refused to comment on the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing issue in which his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan is allegedly involved.

Srinivasan faced the posers days after the International Cricket Council (ICC) admitted it "does not have the power to intervene" in the dispute between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the WICB.

Scheduled to play five ODIs, one T20 and three Test matches during the tour between October 8 and November 19, the Caribbeans midway cancelled the tour owing to an ongoing pay dispute between the WICB and the West Indian cricketers.

A 'shocked' BCCI subsequently announced suspension of cricketing tours with the WICB and its decision to initiate legal proceedings.

Donates 1 crore to orphanage

Srinivasan, along with wife Chitra, was in the city to inaugurate the centenary building of 'The Refuge', a 113-year-old orphanage.

Admitting he was 'overwhelmed' by the occasion, Srinivasan - also the managing director of India Cements Limited, announced a donation of Rs.1 crore to the orphanage, which houses 350 inmates and was established in 1901.

A senior Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) official said: "Mr Srinivasan got a touch emotional while visiting the NGO. He said that after the death of his father, his mother used to run an orphanage. He remembered the old days and said that Kolkata was like his second home."

Srinivasan, who was felicitated by all the clubs affiliated to the CAB, expressed happiness on arrival at the city of Eden Gardens.

"All of us have grown up listening to radio commentaries and trying to imagine the Eden Gardens... from then to come here as the ICC chairman is a long way and I am proud to have come here and be a part of the such magnificent work that is being done here," Srinivasan said during his address about the iconic stadium.