Gavaskar should take over as BCCI president; CSK, RR should be suspended from IPL 2014: SC

Mumbai: The Supreme Court recommended Thursday that batting legend Sunil Gavaskar take over as interim president of the country's cricket board in place of the embattled incumbent N. Srinivasan.

A panel of judges also said the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals -- the two teams at the centre of an ongoing probe into illegal betting and match-fixing -- should be barred from the next edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) beginning next month.

"In the place of Srinivasan, we propose to appoint an experienced cricket player like Sunil Gavaskar to replace him and function as BCCI president," Justice A.K. Patnaik said at the hearing today.

"We are not removing anyone now, but Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals will not be allowed to participate in the IPL which commences on April 16," added Patnaik, who is head of the two-judge panel.

The proposals came two days after the same court urged Srinivasan to stand down as president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to enable a "fair" investigation into allegations surrounding last year's IPL.

The apex court has put aside its interim order on the spot-fixing case for tomorrow.

The top court has also said any person associated with Chennai Super Kings owners India Cements should not be involved with the BCCI.

Taking a very strict view of the spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League, the court has asked the cricket board to come up with its response on its proposals tomorrow.

The bench is looking at a damning report it commissioned into wrongdoing in last year's edition of the annual Twenty20 tournament.

Released in February, the report concluded that Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan could be guilty of illegal betting on IPL games.

Srinivasan is regarded as the most powerful man in world cricket and is due to take over in July as head of the International Cricket Council.

BCCI chief N Srinivasan is in the line of fire for clinging on to the president's post despite his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan being indicted in the spot-fixing scandal -- a decision the court has found "nauseating".

A three-member court-appointed committee headed by former Punjab and Haryana Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal had also probed Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra for possible betting.

Earlier, on Tuesday, the Supreme Court called on Mr Srinivasan to step down to ensure a probe into illegal betting during last year's Indian Premier League, in which his son-in-law has been indicted, is fair.

Former BCCI presidents Shashank Manohar and A.C. Muthiah have come down heavily on Mr Srinivasan on much the same lines as the court.