The Justice RM lodha Committee appointed by the Supreme Court on Monday made a host of far-reaching reccommendations to improve cricket administration in the country, including restructuring the Board of Control for Cricket in India and legalising betting.
Shaken by Justice RM lodha Committee's recommended reforms of its governance structure, a cautious BCCI has decided to call a Special General Meeting (SGM) within the next two weeks to discuss the implications of the report.
All the top BCCI officials will be present in Mumbai on Tuesday at the Annual Awards Function of the BCCI.
The over 150-page exhaustive report compiled by SC-constituted three-member panel of Justice lodha, former SC judges RV Raveendran and Ashok Bhan even ended the dominance of city-based cricket associations and proposed that only one association per state will be permitted to be a full-time member of BCCI.
Presently the BCCI has 34 members, some of which do not represent any region like Services, Railways etc and neither play tournaments. Some states such as Maharashtra and Gujarat have three cricket associations each. Panel even proposed a cap fixing age limit (not 70+) and maximum tenure of nine years for an office bearer to hold any post in BCCI. No office-bearer in state cricket association will be eligible to hold any post in BCCI simultaneously.
Giving players their due, the bench recommended replacing the 14-member WC with a nine-member Apex Council that will have two representatives of Players Association (a man and woman player), a nominee from the CAG office, besides elected office bearers of BCCI.
With report pending consideration with the SC, the BCCI, according to official sources, is planning to challenge the recommendations, as it threatened autonomy of BCCI which is a registered society. The panel went to the extent of striking out multiple voting rights of BCCI president in decision-making process and ended zone-wise domination to choose president.
To bring professionalism in conduct of affairs of BCCI, the lodha panel demanded creation of CEO post who will be answerable to the Apex Council. As far as selection, coaching, and performance evaluation was concerned, the panel recommended a Cricket Committee manned by former professionals (national and international) who will make selections with an aim to encourage cricket not just for men, but women and differently-abled persons. The Cricket Association will be formed by a Steering Committee led by former Home Secretary G K Pillai, former captains Mohinder Amarnath and Anil Kumble and women cricket legend Diana Edulji besides other renowned players.
Addressing a crowded press conference in the Capital, Justice lodha said, "Players will not act as a minion. The idea is to give players voice, use their expertise and skills for the development and betterment of the game," All recommendations have been prepared after holding extensive meetings with Board officials, cricketers and other stakeholders, he added, indicating that the BCCI was aware of the impending report. The panel further proposed that BCCI's functioning must be made amenable to Right to Information Act as it performed a "public function". Report sought BCCI to make public all its decisions, meetings, expenditure, balance sheet on its website.
lODHA COMMITTEE IMPlICATIONS
Recommendation 1:
No person can be an office-bearer in BCCI or state association after attaining an age of 70 years.
Possible effect: It can virtually end the ambitions of Mumbai CA president Sharad Pawar (75+), TNCA top boss N Srinivasan (71+), returning to the helm of the board. Some like Saurashtra supremo Niranjan Shah (71+), Punjab top bosses MP Pandove and IS Bindra may find it difficult to continue in their respective state associations.
Recommendation 2:
One State Association-One Vote and others relegated as associate members.
Possible Effect: This means if there is a situation of an election during the BCCI AGM, president Shashank Manohar cannot vote as only Maharashtra will be a recognised voter. Vidarbha and Mumbai will be relegated as associate members. Similarly Niranjan Shah cannot vote as Saurashtra will be an associate member with Gujarat being the mother state.
Also states like Bihar, Chattisgarh, Telangana will be given voting rights as independent states.
National Cricket Club (NCC), a body with no cricketing activity loses voting power.
Recommendation 3:
Three terms of three years for office-bearers with a cooling off period after each term.
Possible Effect: Current secretary Anurag Thakur after completion of his current tenure cannot immediately contest for BCCI president's post.
Recommendation 4:
Two terms of three years for a BCCI President and also that he cannot contest for any other post once he is elected president.
Possible Effect: Shashank Manohar, after this term, will complete six years and henceforth his innings in BCCI will end.
Recommendation 5:
A person cannot simultaneously be an office-bearer of the BCCI and also a state association.
Possible Effect: BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur (president of Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association); BCCI Jt secretary Amitabh Chaudhary (President, Jharkhand State CA); BCCI treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhary (secretary Haryana CA) will have to relinquish at least one of the two posts, may be the state association post.
Recommendation 6: The Selection committee will comprise 3 members who will have to be Test cricketers.
Possible Effect: Central Zone National selector Gagan Khoda will get the boot as he has played only two ODIs and no Test matches. Also one among Vikram Rathour, Saba Karim, MSK Prasad will have to make way in order to make it a three-member panel. Sandeep Patil (with 25 Tests) is expected to complete his term.
Recommendation 7: legalise Betting
Possible Effect: Entry of British betting companies like ladbrokes, a company through which people in UK & other parts of the world regularly place bets on EPl matches, Ashes, FIFA World Cup.