Not even a few hours had passed since Rupa Gurunath took charge as the newly elected president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association that an email from the Committee of Administrators landed for her perusal. It was related to the new constitution that was submitted for registration with the Registrar of Societies, Tamil Nadu.
Giving point-by-point details, the CoA wrote that it is of the view "that various amendments have been made by TNCA in the Amended Constitution on a deliberate misinterpretation of the order dated 26th September, 2019".
If the TNCA constitution does not get past scrutiny of CoA and the legal team of the BCCI, TNCA can be disqualified from attending the BCCI AGM to be held on October 23.
The 46-year-old, however, would not be too worried about sending an appropriate response to the CoA. Rupa Gurunath has a well-oiled, hand-picked and experienced team of administrators by her side to help and advise her. Not to mention her father N. Srinivasan, the former BCCI and TNCA president, who is still interested and invested in cricket affairs of the state and the country. He will still be pulling the strings, and will be the one Rupa will turn to before making any decision.
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The Lodha Committee's recommendations and subsequent order of the Supreme Court have disqualified her father from direct involvement in the BCCI and the TNCA. Her entrance into cricket administration has raised questions on the issue of nepotism despite a Supreme Court order on reforms in India's richest sports body. Rupa is not unfamiliar with the sport but is definitely new to the politics side of it—an aspect in which her father Srinivasan is entangled in.
Rupa is a keen golfer like her dad; cricket has been limited to following avidly as a fan more than a team owner. After all, Chennai Super Kings are owned by India Cements, which was founded by her grandfather T.S. Narayanaswami and of which her father is the vice-chairman and managing director.
Further, she has been a full-time director of India Cements since 2010, having been inducted into the board in 2007. She is often seen in CSK matches in the team owners box with her children—two daughters and a son. Her husband is Gurunath Meiyappan, who has been banned for life from cricket activities by the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Committee after being found guilty of betting in IPL matches.
The Computer Science graduate from Anna University said she is happy to be the first woman to helm the state cricket body. "The TNCA has been a professionally-run state association, which has a long history and has been headed by eminent personalities. My immediate priorities are to finalise the lease agreement with the government and opening the three stands. Of course, the TNCA has zero tolerance for any form of corruption and it will take appropriate action on any such issues. We shall continue to provide all necessary amenities and any other requirements for the players to perform at their best and look forward to improve their performances in all forms of cricket."
Top on her list would be the allegations of corruption in the TNPL, which is run by the state association. The BCCI has lodged an FIR after reports of attempts to fix matches emerged in the recently-concluded edition of this local T20 league. Also, the TNCA appeal in the Supreme Court is another matter that warrants her attention as it awaits a final order on the Lodha Committee recommendations from the Supreme Court bench even as the BCCI is scheduled to hold its elections after a gap of three years, on October 23 in Mumbai.
It will be interesting to see how she is supported and received in the BCCI, hitherto dominated by the old guard. There has been a barely negligible presence of women administrators in the BCCI, barring the women's cricket sub-committee and one odd lady Rekha Yadav representing the Railways at the BCCI's working committee meetings and general body meetings in the past.
Whether she will be able to keep the Srinivasan flock together within the BCCI and how much support she will get from her father's faithful supporters, remain to be seen.
