CSK Is Sport And Never A Business For Us, Says India Cements’ N Srinivasan

Indian Premier League (IPL) has proved to be a heady mix of sports, entertainment, and business. Not surprisingly, there is quite an interest around it. Sanjiv Goenka-led RPSG group is new franchisee for Lucknow and PE player CVC Capital for Ahmedabad. Indeed, the sport has changed. Is it cricket? Well, the debate has been on for a long while now. But N Srinivasan, the indefatigable former boss of Board of Control for Cricket in India, has a different take on his IPL team. “We look at CSK (Chennai Super Kings) as a pure sport,” says Srinivasan, who is the vice-chairman and MD of ICL (India Cements Ltd). ICL owned the IPL franchise team CSK from inception in 2008 till 2014, when the ownership was transferred to Chennai Super Kings Ltd. “CSK is a sport and never a business for us,” he makes it clear. Srinivasan is the fulcrum around both ICL and CSK. “I think my personality has rubbed off in CSK,” he says. Both at ICL and BCCI, he had endured the worst. “A less strong person would have wilted,” he feels. “Our reaction to victory and loss is the same. When we win we are happy in our heart. We don’t need to go out and blow the trumpet,” he said. Indeed, CSK will remain an inseparable part of Srinivasan.