N Srinivasan returns to centre stage

N Srinivasan, once a strongman of Indian and world cricket, is back in the news. At a time when there is speculation about his retirement from cricket administration, his name has been linked to the top position in Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd (CSKCL). He has now been appointed chairman of CSK, one of the most successful franchises in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

"At a time when world and franchise cricket is changing, the company needs his experience and wisdom to navigate through all the changes," a director of the company told Cricbuzz. As per the latest communication from the CSKCL, Srinivasan (80) has been a director of the company since February 2025. He was appointed chairman on May 10, 2025.

Srinivasan's daughter Rupa Gurunath is one of the directors. In fact, she has been made the 'Wholetime Director with effect from August 24, 2025.' The other directors are R Srinivasan, Rakesh Singh, PL Subramanian, Sanjay Patel and V Manickam. E Jayashree was a director till May 10. Kasi Viswanathan is the Managing Director and CEO of CSK.

CSKCL has called for an online AGM for September 27. The AGM notification says, "NOTICE is hereby given that the Eleventh Annual General Meeting of Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited will be held at 11.00 A.M. [Indian Standard Time] (IST) on Saturday, the 27th September, 2025, through Video Conferencing ("VC") / Other Audio Visual Means ("OAVM") to transact the following business..." A couple points of the business are to re-appoint Srinivasan and Rupa as the directors.

Insiders say Srinivasan, who is rarely seen publicly these days, takes active interest in the affairs of CSK, particularly when the franchise is expanding its base in overseas leagues (it has subsidiary teams in South Africa and the US leagues). He also apparently insists on building high performance centres and academies at various places.

A knowledgeable source said the emergence of Srinivasan as a director/chairman, a position he has not held till February this year, cannot be seen as a surprise as the IPL franchise is owned by the Srinivasan's family and it is the family's prerogative to have a chairperson of its choice. Srinivasan holds 4,27,400 shares in the company.

Rupa has 36,440 shares. Srinivasan's wife Chitra holds over a lakh shares and Srinivasan's family owns majority shareholding after the franchise was segregated from India Cements company, which was taken over by the Birla Group-owned Ultratech Cement last December.

CSK MD and CEO Viswanathan could not be reached but a CSK official said Srinivasan attends meetings and makes a serious contribution to the future plans for the franchise. He is apparently also in regular touch with MS Dhoni, the cricketing and the public face of Chennai Super Kings.