N Srinivasan lashes out at CoA for current state of affairs

From inner feuds to public controversies, cricket in India of late has been more like a Bollywood drama with it's own set of high’s and low’s. Last month, the talk of the town was the whole controversy that involved Indian women’s team member, Mithali Raj, and former coach Ramesh Powar. This month it has changed to Indian cricketers Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul's comments on a chat show.

In the wake of it all, former BCCI cricketer N Srinivasan has blasted Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) for the miserable state of Indian cricket at the moment. In a recent interview with TOI, Srinivasan claimed that the people in charge were more focused on themselves rather than the game itself.

"Everything is in disarray. There is nobody to take decisions. Rules are being changed in domestic cricket to suit personal needs. There are no committees (disciplinary, technical, etc) in place. What had been a strong administrative policy put in place by BCCI is being destroyed slowly. My question is, how bad were the previous regimes? Administrators in the past helped BCCI reach where it has. Look at how cricket has become a source of livelihood for scores of people.

"We worked very hard to promote the game, from all aspects. We were never there for self-publicity. I was hardly seen on public platforms when I served BCCI. We just worked. Now, the difference is that there are individuals who are here to see what they can find for themselves. It’s more about them and not the game. That’s the difference and that’s why there is this mess," Srinivasan told TOI.

Srinivasan, who was chairman of ICC in 2015, also rejected rumours that he was the reason behind everything that has been wrong with cricket in India today. He added that the people in power have used him as a scapegoat to hide their own wrongdoings.

"I would not like to comment upon a verdict given by the court. But on my part, I’d like to reiterate that I had not done anything wrong. Even during this period (spot-fixing), I stepped aside and asked Mr Dalmiya to look after things. If you ask me, ‘Were you treated fairly?’, I’d possibly say, ‘I don’t think so’. But all that is in the past. I haven’t changed my support for this game," Srinivasan added.