MS Dhoni reveals his opinion about N Srinivasan and Gurunath Meiyappan in the book of Rajdeep Sardesai

Indian former skipper MS Dhoni has revealed his relationship with N Srinivasan in the new book Democracy- XI by journalist Rajdeep Sardesai. The latter has also spoken about the mutual respect they had for each other. Interestingly, the Ranchi lad has also cleared about what he told the investigating panel about Gurunath Meiyappan in the spot-fixing scandal of Indian Premier League (IPL). Meiyappan was banned from all the cricketing affairs after his alleged involvement with the bookies during the IPL.

It is a known fact in the cricketing fraternity that Dhoni as captain enjoyed the full support of the then BCCI President Srinivasan. He was the favourite cricketer of the fans in Chennai as he had led the team to IPL and Champions League T20 titles. Also, he was the vice president of India Cements, the company owned by the former President of the Indian board.

I never called him cricket enthusiast

In the book, both MS Dhoni and Srinivasan have spoken about the respect they have for each other. Dhoni also informed that he never called Meiyappan as a cricket enthusiast in front of the probe panel in IPL spot-fixing case. “I really don’t care what people say, I found Srinivasan as someone who was always there to help cricketers. Let me tell you, it is an absolute lie that I told a probe panel that Meiyappan was only a cricket enthusiast, all I said is he had nothing to do with the team’s on-field cricketing decisions. I can’t even pronounce the word ‘enthusiast’,” he was quoted as saying in the book.

Srinivasan has also agreed that he vetoed the decision of the selection committee to sack Dhoni as captain after poor performances of the team overseas. “Yes, it is true that I vetoed the decision to drop Dhoni as captain. How can you drop someone as captain within a year of his lifting the World Cup? What you call favouritism I say is my respect for a top class cricketer’s achievements,” he said.