N. Srinivasan To Supreme Court: Gavaskar, Shastri, Ganguly Also Had Dual Roles in BCCI, IPL

Facing heat from Supreme Court on the question of conflict of interest in Indian cricket, suspended Board of Control for Cricket in India - N. Srinivasan - upped the ante of his defence by 'dragging' names of former cricketers who have held 'dual roles' in the past. (Also read: Onus of disproving conflict of interest on Srinivasan, says Supreme Court)

In a bid to justify Srinivasan's alleged conflict of interest, Srinivasan's counsel Kapil Sibal told a two-judge Supreme Court Bench on Monday that the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Sourav Ganguly too have held positions in both BCCI and the Indian Premier League.

Srinivasan is the managing director of India Cements - the team that owns two-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings. The Tamil Nadu strongman is desperately seeking the top court's nod to contest the BCCI elections and win a second term. (N. Srinivasan Replies to Supreme Court, Says All Allegations Against him are False)

For the first time in this long case on corruption in IPL, Sibal said "several people" have had dual roles in both BCCI and IPL. Sibal also named Anil Kumble, Lalchand Rajput, Krishnamachari Srikkanth and liquor baron Vijay Mallya, whose company United Breweries owns Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Rule 6.2.4 of IPL categorically prohibits BCCI officials from having direct or commercial interests in events organized by the Board. IPL and Champions League T20 though are exceptions. Sibal argued that applying this rule to his client, therefore, is not valid. "The IPL may not even take place if the rule is to be interpreted in this manner," he said in court.

Last week, the Bench comprising Justice TS Thakur and Justice FM Kalifullah highlighted Srinivasan's 'conflicting interests' in the game. The inquiry report into the scam has slammed Srinivasan of "covering up" acts of misdemeanor. (The IPL spot-fixing and betting saga: A timeline)

Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan has been indicted for betting and sharing team information. Meiyappan has been identified as a CSK team official, according to the probe report.

"The ownership of team raises conflict of interest. President of BCCI has to run the show but you have a team which raises questions and it can't be wished away," the court had observed. (India Cements shares sink due to IPL scam)

Meanwhile, the petitioner has taken a strong view against Sibal naming 'cricket idols' to justify conflict of interest.

"With deep regret I must say that Srinivasan is consciously tarnishing the image of some cricketing idols only to save himself," petitioner Aditya Verma of Cricket Association of Bihar said in a release.

"The point is that none of these cricketers had ever remained an office-bearer in the BCCI and did not profit from those offices. So, they can never be compared with Srinivasan."

Interestingly, the top court had appointed Gavaskar as interim president (IPL 2014 affairs) when Srinivasan was stood down. Gavaskar had given up his commentary assignments to complete the assignment given by the Supreme Court.

The next hearing is scheduled for December 8 and 9. Srinivasan's lawyers will now have to defend, with proper documents, that Srinivasan doesn't have conflict of interest in Indian cricket.