New Delhi: Narainswamy Srinivasan plans to seek an extension to his term as president of the Indian cricket board despite being sidelined while his son-in-law is under investigation in the wake of a spot-fixing scandal in the Indian Premier League.
“Yes, I'm eligible for re-election,” he was quoted as saying in The Times of India newspaper Friday. “Why shouldn't I contest to seek a third year as board chief?”
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's annual general meeting is on Sept. 29.
According to BCCI rules, a president is elected for two years but the tenure can be extended by a year unless there is opposition to his candidature.
Srinivasan stood aside from actively running the BCCI in June pending an investigation into Gurunath Meiyappan's role in spot-fixing, with former president Jagmohan Dalmiya taking over on an interim basis.
An internal BCCI investigation cleared Chennai Super Kings official Meiyappan, but the Bombay High Court ruled that the BCCI panel was “illegal and unconstitutional.”
The BCCI has taken that matter to the Supreme Court, although it has handed down life bans on test cricketer Shantakumaran Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan for spot-fixing after a separate investigation into the players' roles.
The board has also banned former player turned bookmaker Amit Singh for five years and Rajasthan Royals pace bowler Siddharth Trivedi for one year for not reporting an approach by illegal gamblers.
Indian police are still investigating the involvement of officials and players. The Delhi Police charged Sreesanth, Chavan and Chandila for being part of a spot-fixing ring that allegedly involved the illegal gambling syndicates.
Mumbai Police are investigating Meiyappan's role in spot-fixing, but no charges have been laid.
