INTER INSTITUTE COURSE II

MARKETING RESEARCH
TOPIC:
Submitted By:
Kunal Yogesh Nadkarni
BA.LLB Division A
(Batch 2018- 23)
PRN: 18010323069
SYMBIOSIS LAW SCHOOL, HYDERABAD
SYMBIOSIS INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY,
PUNE

In the month, of
February 2021

Under the guidance of

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 INTRODUCTION
“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement and
success have no meaning” – Benjamin Franklin

When one hears the name N. Srinivasan, the first inference is cricket. However, cricket isn’t
his only passion, he was termed as a man who lived and breathed cement. He was born on 3 rd
January 1945 and was fondly referred to as a die-hard sportsman and an avid tennis player, a
gifted and passionate sports director, a fiery industrialist and a golden hearted philanthropist
who always worked for the welfare and growth of the people around him. Srini is the
Managing Director of India Cements Ltd, former chairman of the International Cricket
Council (ICC), former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), former,
former president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Board (14 consecutive tenures) and the de-facto
owner of one of the most successful and widely followed Indian Premiere League franchise,
Chennai Super Kings.

India cements is a pioneer in the cement industry and was founded and established in the year
1946 by Sankaralinga Iyer and T.S. Narayanswami, who was the father of N. Srinivasan. Post
the unfortunate demise of his beloved father, Srini, as he is fondly called, was made the Joint
Managing Director of the company at a tender age of 23 in the year 1969 and had to cut short
his MBA degree in USA. In the present scenario, India Cements is the principal in the cement
industry of India. The IPL betting scandal of 2013 can be termed as the principal event which
led to the downfall of Srini, with his son-in-law and CSK principal Guru Nath Meiyappan
convicted by the Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal committee. Srini was also the subject-matter
for investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation, in a Rs. 3000 crore corruption.

The following report will briefly unfold the remarkable and extraordinary journey of N.
Srinivasan, right from being made the MD of India cements at a tender age of 23 to
completing 50 years of association with the company in 2018. Fundamental emphasis will be
laid on the IPL betting scandal in 2015 and the comeback post that. Furthermore, Srini’s
exemplary achievements in the sports industry and his journey from the president of TNCA,
BCCI, ICC to the principal owner of CSK will be enumerated.

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CHAPTER II: THE FALL

Chennai Super Kings and the 2013 IPL Betting Controversy

2.1 Introduction

India has always remained in the peaks of success in its socio-cultural, entertainment and
sports industry. The nation always set a cherished example of rich heritage and successful
unity for other countries and has provided talented sportspersons, a stage to express
themselves. Cricket has always been the most loving sport in India. In fact, the talented
Sachin Tendulkar was the first cricketer, sportsman to win the Bharat Ratna in this field
inspiring youth to challenge their abilities. Cricket is considered a Gentlemen’s Game. The
origins of Cricket can be traced to the English, who played the game with utmost dignity and
in an honest and fair manner. As long as the game continues and there is money involved on
such a large scale, there is bound to be greed of people who want to rig the system in their
favor.

“Cricket has for decades has been a gentlemen’s game, which has now transmitted into a
monumental commercial game attracting huge capital, investments and profits.” The Indian
Premiere League (IPL) was introduced by the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) in
the year 2007. IPL is a Professional T20 Cricket Tournament which is conducted in India
during the summer of April-May of every year and teams representing states from across
India participate in this Cash-rich League.

Chennai Super Kings, principally owned by India Cements, is one of the most successful
franchises in the Indian Premiere League and have a massive fan base spread across the
country. Srini’s “never say die attitude” and passion for the game of cricket is truly embedded
in the management of CSK with the team winning over 3 IPL titles and reaching the
knockouts every year since the inception of the tournament.

2.2 The Big Three

N. Srinivasan is the Managing Director of India Cements Ltd, former chairman of the
International Cricket Council (ICC), former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in
India (BCCI), former president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Board (14 consecutive tenures)
and the de-facto owner of one of the most successful and widely followed Indian Premiere
League franchise, Chennai Super Kings. Prior to presiding over presidency of BCCI, Srini

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served as a Secretary for the Board. Since his appointment as the Chairman of ICC, the Board
of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the England Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket
Australia (CA) were formed and were prominently referred to as “The Big Three”.

2.3. Conflict of Interest

The heralding and overhaul of Indian cricket, the Supreme Court of India led by the bench of
T.S Thakur and Fakir Mohammed Ibrahim while rendering a judgment on the 2013 IPL and
spot fixing case held that in adherence to rule 6.2.4 of BCCI regulations which lays emphasis
on the notion that cricket administrators could be team owners as well as ‘void and
ineffective’. The following decision was rendered taking into consideration the notion that a
person who holds commercial interest in the Indian premiere League cannot be elected as the
president of BCCI. Thus, N. Srinivasan, who is the M.D of India Cements, which is the
principal owner of Chennai Super Kings, had to choose between the ownership and
presidency. Thus, the Supreme Court laid emphasis on the notion that the game of cricket
should be played in its “pristine form” and thus upheld the “need for institutional integrity” as
individuals are the only birds of passage and institutions are forever.

2.4 The 2013 IPL Controversy

The International Cricket Council’s Anti- Corruption Code particularly connects to the game
of cricket, played and cherished in India as well as on international platforms. Furthermore,
as attributed in Clause 11.3(c) of the Franchise Agreement, which specified that "a franchise
can be terminated automatically if the Franchisee, any Franchisee Group Business and/or
any Promoter behaves in any way that has a significant adverse impact on the credibility or
reputation of the Club, BCCI-IPL, BCCI, the Franchisee, the Team (or any other Club entity)
and/or the cricket game." While many receive the impression that India is heading towards
legalizing cricket betting, it nevertheless continues to be seen, precisely when the government
will take a definitive decision.

The 2013 IPL controversy is considered as a “black day” in the history of Indian Cricket and
the Indian Premiere League. Although the Justice Mudghal and Lodha Committee gave a
clean chit to N. Srinivasan, his son-in-law, Guru Nath Meiyappan, was held guilty and
convicted for his involvement in betting and trading inside information to bookies.
Furthermore, the Bench held that CSK were liable for misconduct and rendered that
“misconduct is not only punishable against team officials but also against franchise”. Thus,

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the Lodha Committee imposed a 2-year ban on Chennai Super Kings as well as Rajasthan
Royals.

2.5 The Comeback

The 2013 controversy which shocked the nation, led to CSK being banned for 2 terms. The
2018 comeback was an emotional one, not only for the players but the fans at large and
taking into consideration that CSK were back playing Infront of their home crowd at
Cheaupak was an added incentive. Prior to the start of the season, the team was referred to as
the “Dad’s Army”, prominently due to the notion that the average age of the players was
above 30 yrs. Despite all the speculations and criticisms, the team defied all odds and went on
to win the title that year. Thus, it is concluded that Srini’s “never say die attitude”, passion for
the game of cricket as well as the fundamental importance of experience was portrayed by
Chennai Super Kings.

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CHAPTER III: THE RISE POST THE FALL

INDIA CEMENTS

3.1 Introduction

The Chennai based India Cements Ltd. has a rich and longstanding history. Two visionary
and ambitious entrepreneurs, namely Sankarlinga Iyer and T.S. Narayanaswami founded and
established India Cements in the heart of the city of Chennai in the year 1946. Taking into
consideration the enormous challenges posed by the World War, the initial public issue was
of Rs. 1 crore in the year 1946. Thus, building on the foundation laid by the already founders,
the company over the next few decades grew enormously through a multitude of green field
and brown field thus contributing substantially to building a sustainable India.

3.2 The Journey

In the year 1979, Srini’s career came to a sudden stop because of a prominent rift with the
Managing Director K.S Narayana, the son of the other founder. Although with his dynamic
leadership qualities and market research, he could have moved on to some other form of
business, but he fought a tremendous battle to earn back his company. He quoted, “This is a
great, cyclical industry with a periodic fluctuation in demand and supply which needs a 10-
year vision to thrive”.

Furthermore, back then on the basis on in depth technical analysis, it can be concluded that
India Cements Limited was not a company anybody other than Srinivasan would touch with a
ten feet pole, due to its disorganized structure, red balanced sheets, substantial input costs,
lack of expertise of labour and taking into consideration the high prices of cement in the glut-
market situation. The decision to bid for the “million-tonne Chilamkur Cement Plant of
Coromandel Fertilizers Ltd.” in the city of Andhra Pradesh in the year 1990 created waves in
the industry. Furthermore, it was followed by a series of technological advancements and
upgradations, a series of aggressive takeovers and expansion in various cities in India. Unlike
most of his competitors, Srini was very firm of not selling out to Multinational Corporations.
Taking into consideration the lack of extensive and specialized labour, Srinivasan was
committed to work for labour welfare and was successful in achieving an amicable wage
settlement with the cement industry workers from all over the country.

The company has come a long way since its inception and is not only a pioneer enterprise in
the cement industry but has also grown substantially in stature and goodwill into a multi-

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branched enterprise. The growth of the company can be substantially attributed to N.
Srinivasan for his fearless and dynamic leadership, intensive market knowledge and vision
for a sustainable India. Also, fulfilling their responsibility towards society at large and laying
emphasis on social, economic and environmental development, India Cements has been
fulfilling its corporate social responsibility even prior to it being made mandatory by law. In
the modern scenario, India Cements is considered one of the top 10 cement manufacturing
company in India.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Statutes

 Anti-Corruption Code for Participants, International Cricket Council (ICC), February

 Kalyani Candade, Defying the Paradigm, Srinivasan: Fifty years of an extraordinary

Newspaper Articles

 Sushila Ravindranth, High and Lows of N. Srinivasan-The man who lived and
breathed cement in entire life, Financial Express, ed. Feburary 8, 2019:
https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/high-and-lows-of-n-srinivasan-the-man-
who-lived-and-breathed-cement-in-entire-life/1480679/
 Indranil Majumdar, If not the King ever the Kingmaker, Telegrapgh, ed. September
30, 2019.: https://www.telegraphindia.com/sports/n-srinivasan-if-not-the-king-ever-
the-kingmaker/cid/1708671
 Divya Mohan, N.Srinivasan: A life in the politics of controversy, ed. March 27,
2014.: https://www.india.com/sports/n-srinivasan-a-life-in-the-politics-of-
controversy-29216/
 N. Srinivasan explains how Chennai Super Kings made a successful comeback in IPL,
Deccan Chronicle, ed. November 8, 2019.:
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/sports/cricket/081119/n-srinivasan-explains-how-
chennai-super-kings-made-a-successful-comeba.html
 N. Srinivasan and his many controversies, Cricket Country, ed. April 27, 2015.:
https://www.cricketcountry.com/criclife/n-srinivasan-and-his-many-controversies-
503221
 Krishnadas Rajagopal, as it happened: Supreme Court verdict on IPL Scam, The
Hindu, ed. January 22, 2015.: https://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/sc-verdict-on-

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 ipl-scam-gurunath-meiyappan-guilty-coverup-charges-against-n-srinivasan-not-
proved/article6811539.ece
 Utkarsh Anand, Supreme Court shocks India Cement’s N. Srinivasan, says disqualify
Chennai Super Kings, Financial Express, ed. November 27, 2014. :
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/ipl-scam-supreme-court-shocks-india-
cements-n-srinivasan-says-disqualify-chennai-super-kings/13200/
 N. Srinivasan: The evil that this man did lives after him, The Economic Times, ed.
November 13, 2015.: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/sports/n-srinivasan-
the-evil-that-this-man-did-lives-after-him/articleshow/49765821.cms?from=mdr
 N. Madhavan, The company he keeps, Business Today, ed. June 23, 2013.:
https://www.businesstoday.in/magazine/cover-story/spot-fixing-scam-cannot-
dislodge-bcci-chief-n-srinivasan/story/195392.html
 Christine Chiramel & Vijay Pal Dalmia, India: Intellectual Property Rights in Sports-
Indian Perspective, Mondaq, ed. Feb. 17, 2012:
https://www.mondaq.com/india/trademark/164974/intellectual-property-rights-in-
sports-indian-perspective
 Express news service, IPL probe: Cloud over Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings,
Financial Express ed. Feb 11, 2014: https://www.financialexpress.com/archive/ipl-
probe-cloud-over-rajasthan-royals-chennai-super-kings/1224917/.

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