With Supreme Court removing Thakur and Shirke from their posts of president and secretary — in a judgement that could have far-reaching consequences for sports administration in the country — BCCI state associations finally ready to relent; many officials say they will cooperate & ensure smooth transition
CHENNAI: An 88-year-old empire has crumbled! As of January 2, 2017, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has no control over the game. And for all you know, the name too might be done away with by September 2017 when a new set of officials — eligible according to the Lodha recommendations — takes charge of the board under what is likely to be called Cricket India.
On Monday, the Supreme Court removed BCCI’s president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke with immediate effect and thereby brought the curtains down on the board’s fight against implementing the court-appointed Lodha panel’s reforms.
The Lodha recommendations had called for major constitutional changes that threatened to shake the cricket body. Those are not threats anymore. They are the holy commandments according to which cricket will be run from now on.
When a new set of administrators, named by the Supreme Court, take over the reins on January 19, the only person from the current regime who will work with them will be CEO Rahul Johri. For the meantime a senior vice-president — most likely Gautam Roy or G Gangaraju will don the role of interim president.
Delhi’s CK Khanna, according to DDCA observer Justice Mukul Mudgal is a “pernicious influence” and might not be considered. Roy of Assam Cricket Association, who is in his second term as VP and has been ACA president from early 2000 to 2015. That means he needs to have a cooling-off period. Even Gangaraju, who had a decade-long tenure at Andhra CA too needs to spend a year-off before taking up any post.
As the order came out on Monday, most of the BCCI officials’ and state unit heads’ response indicated the battle was already lost. “It has come on expected lines. Nothing to be surprised about. We have no choice other than implementing all the reforms,” a top board official told Express. But what was surprising was that, for the first time, board officials were open about implementing them.
“Once the Supreme Court-appointed administrators take charge, the board will co-operate with them and put into practice the new constitution. Once that is in place, the state units can also follow suit,” said an official, who is expected to guide the board through these testing times.
Though BCCI in the past has said that without the 3/4th majority, it cannot change the constitution, it is unlikely to be a problem, if a new set of officials, eligible according to Lodha reforms, take charge of state units. “Some of the unit heads have already vacated the chair. More are expected to do so in coming days.
The challenge for us right now is to make this transition as smooth as possible,” the official said.
“When a body like Supreme Court comes up with a judgement, it is supposed to be implemented and respected. There are no two ways of looking at it. The board did fight, and the final order has come. It is up to the BCCI to do what is right for them,” said ICC chairman Shashank Manohar.
venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com