Gavaskar ready for BCCI role

Former India captain and legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar said Thursday he was ready to become interim president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as proposed by the Supreme Court.

"Mr. N.Srinivasan is innocent till proven guilty. I cannot pass an opinion on what Supreme Court feels as I am not a legal man. But as an opener I am ready for any challenge," Gavaskar told NDTV.

The Supreme Court Thursday proposed that Gavaskar or any other former cricketer of his stature should take over as the interim president of the BCCI replacing incumbent Narayanaswami Srinivasan.

Gavaskar said that if the apex court is reposing faith in him he should be able to carry out the role.

"If the highest court is reposing this faith in me, I'll be happy to do what they tell me to do. As an opening batsman, you must be ready for all kinds of challenges. Will do everything to the best of my abilities," he said.

Gavaskar also said that he was ready to forego his lucrative contract with the BCCI as an commentator if he was asked to take the to post.

"I am ready to give up my contract if I am asked to do so by the Supreme Court," he said.

Asked about Supreme Court's proposal to bar Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals from participating in the IPL, Gavaskar said that keeping away the two franchises will not clean cricket from corruption.

"Any cricket lover will feel sad if Chennai doesn't play IPL. They have given a lot of joy to fans. Not having IPL is not going to help. When match-fixing cropped up in 1999-2000, no one said to stop Test cricket. There is no guarantee that with the strongest of measures you can stop corruption," he said.