Gurunath 'ran the team', says Hussey

Michael Hussey, Chennai Super Kings' opener, has become the first player to suggest Gurunath Meiyappan was more than just a "cricket enthusiast" after N Srinivasan and India Cements have distanced themselves and Super Kings from Gurunath, who has been chargesheeted in the IPL betting scandal. In his book, Underneath The Southern Cross, Hussey has commented that Srinivasan ceded control of the team to his son-in-law.

"Our owner was Indian Cements, headed by Mr Srinivasan," Hussey has written. "As he was also on the board of the BCCI, he gave control of the team to his son-in-law Mr Gurunath. He ran the team along with Kepler Wessels, who was coach."

This comes at a time when the Supreme Court of India is hearing a matter related to the Gurunath betting allegations. Before Mumbai Police first sought to arrest him, Gurunath was often seen in the team dugout, at the auction table to represent Super Kings, represented himself as the team prinicipal on a verified Twitter account, and his IPL accreditation represented him as an owner.

Super Kings is owned by India Cements, a listed company of which Srinivasan is vice-chairman and managing director. The BCCI president has maintained that Gurunath had nothing to do with the team, and was just a "cricket enthusiast" who was allowed to travel with them.

A two-member probe panel constituted by the BCCI then cleared the Super Kings of any wrongdoing, but Cricket Association of Bihar moved court and procured a stay order against the findings of the panel, the fairness of whose constitution was questioned by the court. The matter is now being looked into by the highest court in India. The next hearing is scheduled on October 7.