CHENNAI: The CoA’s decision to hold a meeting of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) on Tuesday, where none of the three BCCI office-bearers or members of the NCA board were invited, has left the old guard fuming.
It has been learnt that NCA board chairman Niranjan Shah will file an appeal in the Supreme Court, saying that the panel headed by him can’t be overlooked since no order has disbanded it.
After the meeting in Bengaluru, it was announced that Tufan Ghosh had been made Chief Operating Officer of NCA. This appointment is part of a revamp which those running BCCI have planned for the facility.
NCA is set to be moved to a plot bought recently by BCCI. Before CoA came into being, the NCA board formed by BCCI used to run the centre. Bypassing it completely while taking important decisions related to policy is what has irked members of the board.
Shah had to step down as secretary of Saurashtra Cricket Association after persons either over 70 or holding office for more than nine years became ineligible. Although this criteria didn’t directly rule him out of the position he was occupying at NCA, Shah and the NCA board had largely been kept out of the loop when the CoA set about charting a roadmap for the academy, with BCCI CEO Rahul Johri.
“No SC order has said that the sub-committee of BCCI or the NCA board will have to become non-functional under CoA. Neither is there any mention of disbanding these committees. So keeping the NCA board or its director away from the decision-making process amounts to violation of board rules. Shah is likely to approach the Supreme Court for clarification on whether this can be done,” sources close to the former BCCI secretary said.
Introducing Ghosh as a “top professional in the healthcare and hospitality industry”, a BCCI release added that he would “play a key role in setting up the facility and creating a centre of excellence” on the 40 acres the board has bought on the outskirts of Bengaluru. It was mentioned that Ghosh had been CEO of Columbia Asia, and had looked after operations of the group.
Curiously, the BCCI statement was signed by acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary, who was not at the meeting. “Neither him, acting president CK Khanna, nor treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry were invited to the meeting,” informed well-placed sources.
“This is like interpreting court orders to suit own convenience. The CoA has clearly overstepped its limit. Taking policy decisions is not part of looking after day-to-day affairs,” said a BCCI veteran.
atreyo@newindianexpress.com