BCCI prepares for legal battle a day after AGM

Sportstar understands that the secretary’s office has already started giving final touches to the second progress report, which is supposed to be submitted to the Justice R. M. Lodha committee by September 25.

The fate of Ajay Shirke’s election, and that of the other appointments made during the AGM is also subject to the Lodha committee’s approval.

The focus may have shifted to Kanpur, putting the administrative mess in the background, but that hasn’t stopped the BCCI bigwigs from relaxing about the recent events. While most of the BCCI office-bearers were basking in the glory of India's 500th Test at Green Park in Kanpur, Ajay Shirke — who was re-elected as secretary during Wednesday’s AGM — remained stationed in his hometown Pune.

Sportstar understands that the secretary’s office has already started giving final touches to the second progress report, which is supposed to be submitted to the Justice R. M. Lodha committee by September 25.

The Lodha Committee has set a deadline of September 30 for the BCCI to adopt the new constitution prepared by the committee, amend the IPL Players’ Code of Conduct, initiate the Players’ Association and decide of the rotation policy to be adopted for the multiple members from the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The fate of Shirke’s election, and that of the other appointments made during the AGM is also subject to the Lodha committee’s approval. However, rather than waiting for the committee’s decision, the BCCI has started thinking ahead. Besides working on the compliance report, the BCCI is also preparing for a soon-to-be held meeting with the Lodha committee.

It was murmured that the Lodha committee may call Shirke and President Anurag Thakur for a meeting on September 26, four days ahead of the deadline for amending its rulebook. However, with Justice Lodha down with chikunguniya, the viral fever that has plagued Delhi, it is not sure if the meeting will be postponed.

Nevertheless, the BCCI is also waiting to hear from the Supreme Court over a curative petition it had filed earlier this month that had questioned the existence of the Lodha committee. Almost 20 months since its appointment by the Supreme Court, the BCCI has contended that the committee’s formation in itself was unconstitutional. The petition is increasingly being perceived, even by the BCCI members, as yet another exercise from the BCCI hierarchy to delay the inevitable.