NE SPORTS BUREAU
CHENNAI, DEC 30
In a surprise development, Rupa Gurunath, daughter of former President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India N Srinivasan, has announced her decision to quit as the president of Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA).
Gurunath resigned on December 30, as she wanted to spend more time focusing on business and personal commitments, according to TNCA’s honorary secretary RS Ramasaamy.
Rupa had taken over as the TNCA president in September 2019, becoming the first woman to head a state cricket association in India.
A whole-time director at The India Cement Limited, Gurunath has been actively engaged in the affairs of ICL for some years now.
“It has been my pleasure and a true honour to have served as President of one of the most prestigious cricket associations of the country. I take this opportunity to thank all the apex council members, players, staff, members of TNCA from city and districts, friends and family for their support during my tenure,” she said in a statement.
During her tenure, TNCA tasted quite a success, winning the coveted Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy consecutively in 2020-21 and 2021-22. Amidst the difficult period of the pandemic, working closely with the leadership of BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, TNCA also hosted two back-to-back test matches against England, the first phase of IPL 2021 and the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2021.
“The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association thanks Smt. Rupa Gurunath for her inspirational leadership and contributions to Tamil Nadu cricket, and wishes the best for all of her endeavours,” Ramasaamy said in a statement.
In June this year, a report submitted by BCCI ethics officer DK Jain found Gurunath guilty of conflict of interest.
Following a plea by Sanjeev Gupta in November last year, the ethics officer in his order found Rupa to be holding two posts – president of TNCA and directorship in India Cements, which, in turn, runs Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited (CSKCL). These two posts, according to the order, are in conflict because CSKCL is one of the subsidiary companies of India Cements of which Rupa is one of the directors.
As per the order, Rupa, who became the TNCA president in 2019, has to relinquish one of the posts.
PS Raman, who appeared on Rupa’s part in the hearings, maintained that his client, who is the daughter of former BCCI president N Srinivasan, is in no way related to CSKCL. But the ethics officer, in his order, said that CSKCL is a subsidiary wing of ICL and there is a case of conflict, even if Rupa does not hold any post. The fact that CSKCL operates from the same premises as ICL also didn’t go in her favour.
