COO Raman in the know
The Supreme Court sprang a surprise by making large portions of the Mudgal Committee’s findings public on Monday, and there were some shocks in what was released.
The report held that BCCI president- in- exile N. Srinivasan and four other office- bearers did not take action against at least one player who violated the Players’ Code of Conduct in IPL 2013.
It confirmed involvement of two team “offficials” — Gurunath Meiyappan of Chennai Super Kings and Raj Kundra of Rajasthan Royals — in illegal betting and also that there had been lapses in sharing of relevant information around the scandal.
The report, parts of which were shared with four persons summoned by the apex court and their counsel, said that Indian Premier League operations chief Sundar Raman knew about the betting activities of Meiyappan and Kundra but had not conveyed it to anyone because he has been advised by the ICC’s anti- corruption unit that the information was not actionable.
It added that Raman knew a bookie’s associate and had been in touch with him eight times during an IPL season but had denied being aware of his betting activities.
“Sundar Raman admitted knowing the contact of the bookie, however claimed to be unaware of his connection with betting activities,” the Mudgal report said.
It identified Meiyappan as a CSK team official and confirmed that he had indulged in betting on matches though there was no material available to show that he was involved in match- fixing.
November 24 is the day the Supreme Court bench will make known its observations and action on the Mudgal report and till such time, the fate of former IPL champions CSK and Rajasthan Royals hangs in the balance. There is equal interest around how the court would look at Srinivasan being aware of a player’s violation of the Code of Conduct and not acting on the matter,