Rupa Gurunath, the daughter of former BCCI Chief N Srinivasan has been elected unopposed as the first woman president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) on Wednesday. Her appointment at the 87th Annual General Meeting has raised eyebrows over the family's unwillingness to relinquish control over cricket in the state.
Her father has held the post of TNCA chief since 2002. He was barred from holding any position in the BCCI by the Supreme Court due to his commercial interests in Chennai Super Kings, a team in the Indian Premier League. Moreover, her husband Gurunath Meiyappan was arrested on charges of betting in the Indian Premier League in 2013.
Despite this however, as nominations came to a close on Wednesday evening, Rupa was the only candidate who had filed for the post of President. According to reports, the Supreme Court had set September 28 as the deadline for the association's elections. However, it has now been extended to October 4. Supreme Court had stated that while elections could be conducted, the results will not be declared and that it will be subject to the order of the top court.
CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan, who spoke to TNM, shortly after the Annual General Meeting, said, "It was a unanimous result. There is no keeping it a secret. She was the only one nominated and nobody stood against her."
When asked about the criticism against Srinivasan over promoting family members, he added, "You can always ask everybody this, she (Rupa) is not the only one. Everybody has done this. You can Jaydev Shah (President of Saurashtra Cricket Association), Niranjan Shah's son and Arun Thakur (President of Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association), Anurag Thakur's brother. Why only pick on Mr. Srinivasan? People are happy with their (Srinivasan's family's) contribution to the TNCA."
The Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) of the BCCI has initiated an inquiry over alleged corruption in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) after a few players raised the issue with the regulatory authority.
The TNCA recently found itself in the news again after an alleged fixing scandal concerning the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). According to reports, bookies have allegedly gained control of a TNPL franchise via an illegal deal and are managing the team in a way that would result in profits in betting.