Rajiv Shukla has resigned as IPL chairman, following the scandal over alleged corruption in the IPL. His decision to stand down comes less than 24 hours after the resignations of two top BCCI officials, secretary Sanjay Jagdale and treasurer Ajay Shirke, and on the eve of a crucial BCCI working committee meeting in Chennai, where the future of N Srinivasan as board president is expected to be decided.
On Saturday evening, Shukla told PTI: “I have decided to quit as IPL chairman. It is a decision that I was pondering over for some time. I think it is time to step down. Sanjay Jagdale and Ajay Shirke resigned in the best interest of Indian cricket. I thought this is the right time.”
Shukla took over as IPL chairman at the BCCI’s Annual General Meeting in September 2011, from Chirayu Amin. The tenure is for a year, but can be extended at the board’s AGM. Shukla, who was reappointed as chairman in 2012, had gone on record saying he would not extend his term at this September’s AGM.
IPL 2013 has been plunged into controversy over the past two weeks, following the arrests of three Rajasthan Royals players for alleged spot-fixing, and Chennai Super Kings official Gurunath Meiyappan – the the son-in-law of board president N Srinivasan, who is also the managing director of Super Kings’ owner, India Cements – for alleged betting.
Apart from Shukla, the IPL’s governing council comprises Arun Jaitley (Delhi District Cricket Association), Anirudh Chaudhary (Haryana Cricket Association), Amitabh Chaudhary (JharkhandCA), Sanjay Patel (BarodaCA), Ganga Raju (AndhraCA), MP Pandove (PunjabCA), and former India Test cricketer and current television commentator Ravi Shastri.
