Narayanaswami Srinivasan, an industrialist-turned-cricket administrator from India, is all set to clinch the highest post in world cricket. Although soaked deep in controversy, following the match-fixing scandal that rocked Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2013, he not only managed to remain afloat as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), but has also enticed other cricketing nations to appoint him the first chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Srinivasan is power-hungry and carries with him some remarkable shrewdness to maintain it. Even when his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan was arrested in the match-fixing scandal, following which there was a big hue and cry for Srinivasan to step down as the BCCI president, he refused to budge. Meiyappan was the face of Chennai Super Kings that Srinivasan’s company India Cement owned in the IPL. Following the scandal, Srinivasan unscrupulously remarked that Meiyappan was just a ‘cricket enthusiast’ and not the face of his team. Two days before he cleared his way to become the chairman of the ICC, Meiyappan was found guilty of betting and passing on confidential information by a committee that was probing the IPL match-fixing scandal.
Like batsmen who rely on timing to swell their score, Srinivasan too perfectly times his moves. Fully aware that the probe committee will indict his son-in-law, he orchestrated the timing of the ICC meetings accordingly.
If he used his personal clout as a successful industrialist to win support from majority of the state cricket associations in India, in the ICC too Srinivasan used the money power of BCCI to wrest control. Srinivasan is hardly concerned about the morals associated with occupying the top post in world cricket and hence remains unaffected, even though his name has been tainted in the match-fixing scandal. Fortunately for him, all nations that eye a share as well as the benevolence of the cash-rich BCCI, shamelessly supported him by ignoring all ethics of the sport.
To gain power, Srinivasan has this uncanny ability to remove all obstacles from his path and destroy his adversaries. Lalit Modi, former chairman of the IPL, and Sharad Pawar, the former president of the BCCI and ICC, were his close allies in the quest to eliminate the powerful Jagmohan Dalmiya, who once ruled Indian cricket. Today, Modi and Pawar are Srinivasan’s biggest enemies.
Srinivasan’s rise to fame is a fascinating tale. He was born in Kallidaikurichi, Tirunelveli district, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is the son of T.S. Narayanaswami, the co-founder of India Cements. He holds a BSc (Tech) from Madras University and a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, US.
Srinivasan was introduced to cricket by A.C Muthiah, another industrialist and cricket administrator from Tamil Nadu, who was the president of the BCCI from 1999 to 2001. Under his guidance, Srinivasan contested the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) seat from Vellore. When Muttiah stepped down as the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association president, he helped Srinivasan secure the post. Very soon, Srinivasan parted ways with Muthiah to create an identity for himself. Their relationship strained so much that it ended up in a major legal feud. Muthiah later confessed “it was a huge mistake bringing Srinivasan into cricket”.
Once Srinivasan entered the BCCI, he slowly but steadily worked his way to the top. He joined hands with Pawar, Modi and I.S. Bindra to oust Dalmiya, the former BCCI and ICC president, whose group ruled BCCI in those days. Srinivasan became the treasurer of BCCI and then its secretary and took over as the 30th president of the board. Just like the way he dumped Muthiah, he then went on to part ways with those who supported him. Pawar, Modi and Bindra — like Muthiah — are today his arch enemies.
Srinivasan has this creepy ability to win loyalists who help destroy his enemies. A shrewd manipulator of the system, he has always managed to alter the constitution of almost all the bodies he has led. He did it first with the TNCA by scrapping the fixed tenure of eight years for the president’s position — and has thus remained its president since 2002.
In 2008, Srinivasan’s company brought the Chennai franchise of IPL for $91 million (Dh334.69 million). Given that IPL rules had clearly stated that no administrator of BCCI should have directly or indirectly any commercial interest in the IPL to avoid any conflict of interest, Srinivasan conveniently altered the clause to benefit BCCI members so they could own stakes in IPL franchises.
Like he created a fortress within TNCA with his loyalists, he did the same in BCCI too. He executed the same modus operandi in ICC by winning support from England and Australia and ensuring that all other nations backed him up as the king of world cricket.
Will this ruthless king help cricket retain its popularity? Only time will tell.
