Rupa Gurunath, daughter N Srinivasan, a one-time strongman of Indian cricket, has resigned as the president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA). She cited personal and business commitments as reasons for her voluntary exit. She was the first woman president of a state cricket association. "My sincere thanks to all the office-bearers and committee members for their continued leadership in moving the game forward during trying times. The leadership and commitment you have all shown during this period has been exemplary and inspirational," she said in a statement on Thursday (December 30)
Rupa, who took over in September 2019, was the only woman to be a head of a BCCI state unit and her resignation doesn't come as a total surprise as she was even reluctant to take up the post in first place.
As per its constitution, the TNCA has to elect a new president with in 45 days by calling for a special general meeting (SGM) and the way forward will be known only in the first of week of January. Right through her two-year tenure, Rupa has largely remained in the background, with TNCA secretary RS Ramasaamy representing the association in BCCI meetings. Earlier this year, the BCCI's ombudsman had found Rupa to be in conflict of interest because of her role in India Cements, which has close ties with Chennai Super Kings. However, officials in TNCA said that issue had no role in her resignation. During her tenure, Tamil Nadu won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy back to back, in 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. "Amidst the difficult period of the pandemic, working closely with the leadership of BCCI secretary Jay Shah, the TNCA also hosted two back-to-back Test matches against England the first phase of IPL 2021 and the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2021," TNCA secretary RS Ramasaamy said in a statement.
