The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) went into a huddle after the Supreme Court told it to “fall in line” and implement the Justice Lodha Committee recommendations. The board held a general meeting (SGM) in Mumbai on February 19 to discuss the Apex Court-appointed panel’s directives and has decided to give a detailed response based on the views of its members. The BCCI has directed its secretary Anurag Thakur to file an affidavit pointing out the “anomalies and difficulties” in implementing the recommendations. The BCCI has to respond to the court on
the matter before March 3 and the board has also given its state affiliates liberty to file independent affidavits if they so wish. While the BCCI has maintained that it has no reservations
in implementing the panel’s recommendations, it has reservations
on several directives of the committee. Although the
boarddid not elaborate on these anomalies, it’s clear that it will
oppose suggestions pertaining to the eligibility of office-bearers,
dissolving the associations and bringing in ‘one state, one
vote’ policy and not holding positions
simultaneously in both the
state and national body, as in the
case of board secretary Thakur,
treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhary and
joint secretary Amitabh Chaudhary.
Another contentious issue is not
airing TV advertisements between overs and restrict it to showing
only during innings, lunch and tea breaks during international
matches. This will cause the BCCI to lose a huge chunk of
revenue generated through broadcast rights and severely affect
its functioning. The board argues that it only sells the telecast
rights of the action, and not the time slots in between. It is the
broadcaster who owns the commercial time and monetises it. It
is a valid point on part of the board and if the recommendation
is implemented it claims its revenue would fall by 70-75%, a big
drop by any count. To avoid this, it is sure to exhaust all legal
remedies before accepting it.
The proposal to have only one state body with voting rights is
another thorny issue. Its implementation will adversely affect
states which have multiple associations like Maharashtra and
Baroda. In Maharashtra, cricket is run by three associations --
Maharashtra Cricket Association, Mumbai Cricket Association
and Vidarbha Cricket Association. If the officials from these
state units are up in arms, it is quite understandable. Similarly,
Gujarat has three associations “ GCA, Saurashtra and Baroda.
These are all self-sufficient independent bodies with rich
history and legacy in cricket which have built their teams and
own infrastructure over the years. Also, it will hand an unfair
advantage, by way of their voting rights, to smaller units which
have negligible contribution to cricket in India. For instance,
excluding a few states, the north-east doesn’t produce much
buzz for cricket. Depriving some deserving units voting right is
sure to create fissures in Indian cricket.
On the other hand, there are things within the ambit of BCCI
which it can be flexible in implementing and it has adopted
certain measures to impress the court. The board, which had in
the past refused to come under the RTI, has now agreed to do
so. It has also decided to start the process of hiring a CEO and
CFO, which is sure to bring more professionalism in its setup.
For all its resistance, BCCI can only hope that the court gives it
a chance to go back to the panel to address its concerns.
