The head of the Indian cricket board is to step aside while an investigation takes place into alleged spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), a colleague said yesterday.

The president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), N. Srinivasan, had been under pressure to resign at an emergency meeting in Chennai, but he appeared to have negotiated a compromise to stay in place. "He said he will step aside, but not resign at any cost," said Punjab Cricket Association president I.S. Bindra, who attended the meeting.

Srinivasan has resisted mounting pressure to quit after the arrest of his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan on May 24 over alleged links to illegal betting on the IPL. Srinivasan owns the Chennai Super Kings, of which Meiyappan is an executive.