N Srinivasan keeps mum post-Supreme Court verdict

N Srinivasan

New Delhi, Jan 22 (IANS) Sidelined BCCI president N. Srinivasan refused to comment following the Supreme Court's decision on Thursday to bar him from contesting the election for the Indian cricket board's governing body presidency due to a "conflict of interest".

The apex court pointed out that as Srinivasan is the managing director of India Cements Pvt Ltd, the company which owns Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and also a top official in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), there was a conflict of interest.

When contacted by IANS, Srinivasan said: "I am not talking now."

The apex court order came as it struck down an amendment to the BCCI rules which permitted the office bearers of the apex cricket body to have commercial interests in IPL and the Champions League Twenty20 and all events organised by the BCCI.

The court also asked Srinivasan to stay away from the BCCI on account of his commercial interest in CSK.

In September last year, India Cements' board had approved the demerger of CSK (a division) into a wholly-owned subsidiary by transferring the assets at net cost. The transfer, subject to all approvals, was effective on January 1, 2015.

Company officials had earlier said the IPL franchise CSK had given its cement brands good exposure in various markets. The company earned around Rs.166 crore from CSK.

India Cements had successfully bid for the Chennai franchise in 2008 for $91 million with the amount to be paid over a 10-year period.