CoA may implement player contracts through alternate signatories

But as per the directions issued by the CoA on April 6, 2017, the BCCI CFO Santosh Rangnekar and GM, Game Development, Ratnakar Shetty were added as signatories for all bank accounts.

The CoA has created Players Revenue/Compensation Equalization Fund and allotted a sum of Rs. 125 crore for the same. Sources revealed that the relevant Contract that has to be offered to the players of national men and women teams is ready and only the money part has to be filled in.

The Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) do not foresee a hitch to implement the Annual Player Contracts for October 2017-September 2018, in the absence of the signature of the acting Secretary, Amitabh Choudhary in the Contract paper and in the event of the Treasurer, Anirudh Chaudhry insisting on the acting Secretary’s signature on the Contract.

The CoA has created Players Revenue/Compensation Equalization Fund and allotted a sum of Rs. 125 crore for the same. Sources revealed that the relevant Contract that has to be offered to the players of national men and women teams is ready and only the money part has to be filled in.

There has been an instance or two in the past wherein in the Treasurer had insisted on the Signature of the acting Secretary, along with the CEO's, on a particular agreement.

But as per the directions issued by the CoA on dated April 6, 2017, the BCCI CFO Santosh Rangnekar and GM, Game Development, Ratnakar Shetty were added as signatories for all bank accounts.

The gist of the CoA directive is as follows: "While  the CEO alone shall continue to sign all pleadings, affidavits, applications, in respect of legal proceedings filed by or against the BCCI, all payments to be made on behalf of the BCCI shall be jointly approved by the acting Secretary and the CEO. And if a payment is not processed and/or decision is not implemented within three working days, the CoA may direct the other two signatories ( Rangnekar and Shetty), to process the payment and/or implement the decision instead of the acting Secretary and the Treasurer."

Miffed at the lack of action from the finance committee to the proposals sent by the CoA to it on the annual contracts matter, the CoA went ahead and has announced the Contract for 2017-18. 

The acting Secretary Choudhary has said that "he and the 37 members of the BCCI’’ were not party to it and that he was not part of the selection committee that is supposed to have drawn the list of players.

It would be interesting to see what the Treasurer, Chaudhry does, in the event of the payment papers are sent to him. If he doesn’t the CoA will avail of the second option, that of getting the work done by Rangnekar and Shetty.