BCCI Working Committee meets tomorrow after HC setback

Rattled by a Bombay High Court order which declared its probe into the IPL spot-fixing scandal "illegal", the BCCI's working committee will meet here tomorrow to discuss the matter amid indication that a defiant N Srinivasan will return as President despite the furore.

The meeting will consider all the legal implications of the High Court order and chalk out a future course of action.

An internal probe by two retired judges had cleared president-in-exile Srinivasan's franchise Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra of charges of betting and spot-fixing.

Srinivasan, who had stepped aside for the duration of the BCCI probe, was set to be back as President in tomorrow's meeting before the Bombay High Court turned the tide against the Tamil Nadu strongman.

Hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by the Cricket Association of Bihar, a two-judge division bench declared the two-member BCCI probe panel "unconstitutional and illegal", taking the Board completely by surprise.

According to a BCCI source, the Working Committee will take a decision on whether to immediately appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court or wait till the police completes its probe in the matter. It can also explore the option of forming a new probe panel to reinvestigate the scandal.

Amid all the drama, what has remained unchanged is Srinivasan's defiance. There is intense speculation that Srinivasan has already taken over as President though there is no confirmation yet.

BCCI officials are tight-lipped on the issue and some of them, when contacted, said that they were not aware of this development.

If Srinivasan indeed chairs the working committee meeting tomorrow, it will mark his official taking over of the Board after a hiatus of nearly two months, during which Jagmohan Dalmiya served as interim chief.

Srinivasan has argued that he can be back at his job now that the internal inquiry commission to probe allegations of IPL spot-fixing and betting had completed its report and found no evidence against Chennai Super Kings and his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan.