N. Srinivasan was forced to step aside as BCCI president due to conflict of interest after his son-in-law's arrest for betting, though he went on to become ICC Chairman.
N. Srinivasan rose through the ranks of Tamil Nadu cricket and the BCCI to become one of Indian cricket's most powerful administrators. As Managing Director of India Cements, one of South India's largest conglomerates, he had the financial muscle to acquire the Chennai Super Kings franchise when the IPL launched in 2008. By 2011 he had ascended to the BCCI presidency.
The conflict of interest at the centre of this saga was structural: Srinivasan simultaneously held the highest office in Indian cricket's governing body while being the commercial beneficiary of one of its biggest franchises. Critics had long argued that this arrangement was untenable, but Srinivasan used his political influence within the BCCI to deflect criticism.
When the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal broke, the spotlight fell not just on players and bookmakers but on the ownership and governance of franchises. The arrest of his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan — who had been operating as a de facto team official despite holding no formal title — brought the conflict-of-interest debate to an unavoidable crisis point.
The 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal began unravelling in May when Delhi Police arrested three Rajasthan Royals players — S. Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan, and Ajit Chandila — for spot-fixing. The investigation quickly spread to bookmakers connected to franchise officials.
Gurunath Meiyappan, CSK's "team principal" in all but official designation, was arrested on 16 May 2013 for alleged betting on IPL matches. This placed Srinivasan in an impossible position: as BCCI president, he was supposed to oversee the inquiry into the very franchise owned by his family's company. Demands for his resignation erupted from rival BCCI factions and the media.
Srinivasan's response was defiant. He convened a BCCI Special General Meeting and claimed Meiyappan held no formal role with CSK, making his conduct an individual matter. Legal proceedings filed in the Supreme Court challenged this position, and the court ultimately ordered him to step aside, appointing Shivlal Yadav as interim BCCI president while the Mudgal Committee investigated.
Narayanaswami Srinivasan became the symbol of cricket's governance crisis when the IPL fixing scandal of 2013 exposed the massive conflict of interest at the heart of Indian cricket. As BCCI president, Srinivasan was supposed to oversee the integrity of the IPL, but he was also the owner of India Cements, which owned the Chennai Super Kings franchise.
When his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was arrested for betting in May 2013, Srinivasan refused to step down as BCCI president. He argued that CSK was owned by India Cements, not by him personally, and that Meiyappan was not an official of the team. This position was widely criticized as untenable. The Supreme Court eventually had to intervene, asking him to step aside pending investigation.
Despite the scandal, Srinivasan was elected as ICC Chairman in June 2014, a move that astonished many observers and raised questions about cricket governance globally. The Lodha Committee subsequently recommended sweeping reforms, including that BCCI officials should have no financial interest in IPL franchises. The Supreme Court accepted these recommendations.
The Srinivasan saga exposed the nexus between cricket administration and commercial interests in India. It led to the most significant governance reforms in the history of Indian cricket, mandated by the Supreme Court, and fundamentally changed the relationship between the BCCI and the Indian government.
May 2013 — Gurunath Meiyappan arrested by Mumbai Police for betting on IPL matches
May 2013 — BCCI Special General Meeting where Srinivasan refuses to resign
October 2013 — Supreme Court orders Srinivasan to step aside as BCCI president
June 2014 — Despite the scandal, Srinivasan elected as ICC Chairman
January 2015 — Lodha Committee appointed by Supreme Court to recommend BCCI reforms
July 2015 — CSK and Rajasthan Royals suspended from IPL for two years following Lodha report
2008
India Cements acquires Chennai Super Kings franchise at IPL auction
2011
Srinivasan elected BCCI president
16 May 2013
Gurunath Meiyappan arrested by Mumbai Police for betting
Oct 2013
Supreme Court orders Srinivasan to step aside; Mudgal Committee formed
June 2014
Srinivasan elected ICC Chairman despite ongoing domestic controversy
July 2015
CSK suspended for two years; Lodha reforms recommended to Supreme Court
“The BCCI has not shied away from taking action wherever corruption has been detected.”
“It is apparent that Mr. Srinivasan has a conflict of interest and therefore cannot continue as BCCI president.”
“The entire edifice of cricket administration needs to be reformed root and branch.”
“The scandal exposed what many of us had warned about for years — you cannot have the gamekeeper owning one of the biggest game parks.”
The Supreme Court accepted the Lodha Committee's recommendations in 2016, mandating sweeping governance reforms in the BCCI. These included restrictions on who could hold BCCI office — an office-bearer could not simultaneously have a commercial interest in any IPL franchise, effectively ending the Srinivasan model of governance. The reforms also introduced age and tenure limits for administrators.
CSK and Rajasthan Royals were suspended from IPL 2016 and 2017, creating the Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions as replacement franchises. Srinivasan's own position became untenable domestically, though he continued as ICC Chairman until 2016. The affair permanently altered the public perception of cricket governance in India, fuelling broader demands for transparency in sports administration.
Forced to step aside as BCCI president. CSK suspended for two years. Lodha reforms changed BCCI governance.
The Srinivasan saga became a landmark case in the discourse around sports governance globally. It demonstrated how concentrated power — a single individual controlling both the regulator and a regulated franchise — created structural corruption risk even absent any direct wrongdoing by the administrator himself. Regulators in other sports cited the BCCI case as a cautionary tale.
For Indian cricket, the Lodha reforms, however imperfectly implemented, represented the first serious attempt to apply principles of corporate governance to the BCCI. The requirement for an independent ombudsman, a conflict-of-interest policy, and term limits transformed the organisation's theoretical accountability framework, even if enforcement remained contested for years afterward.
South Africa vs Various
7 April 2000
South African captain Hansie Cronje was found guilty of match fixing after Delhi Police intercepted phone calls between Cronje and an Indian bookmaker, Sanjay Chawla.
South Africa vs England
18 January 2000
Hansie Cronje engineered a contrived result at Centurion after rain had washed out most of the Test, later revealed to have been done at the behest of a bookmaker in exchange for a leather jacket and cash.
India vs Various
5 December 2000
Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin was banned for life by the BCCI after the CBI found evidence of his involvement in match fixing, based on revelations from the Hansie Cronje investigation.