Dhoni is reportedly mulling over giving up his captaincy
Chennai: The involvement of Gurunath Meiyappan in IPL betting scandal did not just spell doom for his father-in-law N. Srinivasan, it also put Chennai Super Kings skipper M.S. Dhoni’s structured career on a tightrope ever since the controversy broke out.
As Harish Salve, the petitioner’s lawyer in IPL case and son of former BCCI president N.K.P Salve, argued in the Supreme Court Thursday, Dhoni is guilty of “corrupt conduct because he gave false statements” to the Mudgal Committee about Gurunath’s role with the CSK, Dhoni is reportedly mulling over giving up his captaincy and break his silence on the issue after the ongoing World T20 in Dhaka.
A highly-placed source said “it was not the first time Dhoni offered to quit captaincy”. “He wanted to step down and come clean the minute his name first came up in the reports. But a top BCCI official promised him that the dust would settle down fast and court cases would be sorted out soon. The board also gagged Dhoni from commenting on any IPL spot-fixing issues and he had been maintaining that ‘he would talk when the right time comes’.
While Dhoni continued to evade media whenever the tough questions were posed, the Mudgal probe committee’s report comes as a devastating blow.
The report suggested that Dhoni was economical with the truth and said “Mr M.S. Dhoni, Mr N. Srinivasan and officials of India Cements took the stand that Mr. Meiyappan had nothing to do with the cricketing affairs of Chennai Super Kings and was a mere cricket enthusiast supporting CSK.”
Salve also pointed out Thursday that Dhoni is an “employee of India Cements and that leads to a conflict of interest”. Not just Dhoni, the India Cements employs around 100 cricketers from across the country.
“Dhoni was roped in to play for India Cements in the BCCI Corporate Trophy in July, 2012, just like how Rahul Dravid represented India Cements team in TNCA first division. But Dhoni hasn’t played a single game because of national team duty,” said a source.
