New Delhi:
The Supreme Court suo motu appointed cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar as the interim head of India's cricket board (BCCI) on March 28 after ejecting tainted incumbent N Srinivasan from the post of president.
A panle of judges said that 64-year-old Gavaskar would take over the reins of the Board of Control for Cricket in India barely three days after warning Srinivasan that they would ask him to step down if he did not quit on his own.
Gavaskar would be the "interim working president" of the BCCI, the court said, adding that he would be in charge of the contentious Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament season 7 which begins next month.
The Twenty20 competition has been locked in charges of spot fixing and illegal betting and spot-fixing, with Srinivasan's son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan having been booked in these cases.
It is not yet known if Gavaskar would extend his tenure beyond the IPL tournament. Gavaskar had indicated on March 27 that he considered the Board suggestion to be a big honour and that he might be inclined to take up the challenge in the interest of the game.
A lawyer for BCCI said that the BCCI "fully endorse(d) the order passed by the Supreme Court today", and that it was in accordance with its own proposals to the judges.
The court also said that Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals — the teams caught in the allegations of illegal betting and spot-fixing in last year's competition — could take part in this year's IPL.
The panel had just a day earlier said the two teams should be barred from the tournament which begins in Abu Dhabi next month.
"We told the court that at this juncture, especially since everything is unverified, we could not stop any team in playing in the IPL," CA Sundaram, one of the board's lawyers, said later.
"It would have affected the tournament as well as millions of cricket-loving public. We are very happy that the court has not passed any order that would have interrupted the tournament."
While there was no immediate reaction from Srinivasan, Sundaram reiterated that the outgoing president was willing to "stand aside" during the probe.
The judges must have kept in mind a similar move by Srinivasan last year before resuming his duties and then seeking re-election.
This year's IPL begins in Abu Dhabi on April 16, with the opening round of matches to be held in United Arab Emirates as India is in the midst of a general election.
The court said that Gavaskar must cease his work as a television commentator to avoid any conflict of interest in his new role, adding that the BCCI must "adequately compensate" him for loss of earnings.
Gavaskar has earned a reputation as an excellent cricket commentator.
