New innings: Srinivasan appointed ICC chairman

His election comes despite the Supreme Court earlier barring him from carrying out duties as BCCI President

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday confirmed Narayanaswami Srinivasan, who has been barred by the Supreme Court from carrying out his duties as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president, as its chairman.

The announcement was made after the 52-member full council approved amendments to the ICC’s memorandum and articles of association at the annual conference in Melbourne.

Srinivasan was picked for the highest chair at ICC despite his being barred by India’s Supreme Court from carrying out his duties as BCCI president due to the ongoing investigations into the match-fixing allegations relating to the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League. The apex court had refused to stop his nomination to the ICC position, clearing decks for the top job. The revamp is also expected to hand major executive decision-making authority to the so-called “big three” of the game — India, Australia and England.

“It is an honour to be confirmed as the chairman of the International Cricket Council. I will leave no stone unturned in trying to strengthen the pillars and foundations of our sport, both on and off the field. I want to ensure that cricket retains and grows its popularity, and that the ICC plays a leading role in this global growth,” Srinivasan said in a statement.

He said he wants to see more strong teams in international cricket. “For this to be achieved, we all need to work hard to develop local talent in our countries. Naturally, there will be more support to those who first show they can help themselves.”

“The ICC is a members’ organisation and the pathway is now there for any member to play Test cricket or in the major ICC events if it performs well enough over a sustained period of time,” he added.
CRICKET CONNECTIONS

• N Srinivasan served as president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association between 2001 and 2002
• Appointed honorary treasurer of BCCI in 2005. As honorary secretary of BCCI in 2008, he formalised a change in BCCI's constitution to exclude Indian Premier League (IPL) and Champions League in a clause that prevented board administrators from having any commercial interests in BCCI events
• Became BCCI president-elect in 2010, which was legally challenged by his rival A C Muthiah. After Supreme Court’s nod in 2011, Srinivasan took over as president from Shashank Manohar
• SC appointed Sunil Gavaskar as BCCI working president in March in place of Srinivasan till it gives a final verdict in the IPL betting and spot-fixing case