Was BCCI’s claim ‘unanimous’?

Among BCCI’s affiliated units which had claimed they had enforced the Supreme Court directives were Vidarbha, Tripura and Hyderabad, even though the last-named maybe locked in a technical issue on the subject.

At the end of the SGM which reiterated its reservation against five major issues, the Board’s acting-secretary Amitabh Choudhary had emphatically described the resolution as ‘unanimous’.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) claim that it had passed a unanimous resolution on the implementation of the Supreme Court order at its last Special General Meeting (SGM) held in Delhi on July 26, has raised questions among a few affiliated units, notably those which had announced their consent to implement the reforms.

At the end of the SGM which reiterated its reservation against five major issues, the Board’s acting-secretary Amitabh Choudhary had emphatically described the resolution as ‘unanimous’.

Among BCCI’s affiliated units which had claimed they had enforced the Supreme Court directives were Vidarbha, Tripura and Hyderabad, even though the last-named maybe locked in a technical issue on the subject.

Tripura was absent at the SGM, while officials from Punjab and Orissa were disallowed since they were not represented by office-bearers as mandated by the Supreme Court.

“How come these units and Delhi (which was represented by a High Court-appointed Administrator) were party to a resolution which did not implement the Supreme Court ruling in toto?”, a veteran Board official asked.

Vidarbha and Tripura were among the earliest to implement the reforms, while Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), being administered by Justice (Retd.) Vikramajit Sen, appointed by the Delhi High Court, has been dragging its heels.

According to a Board official, Sen had expressed his dissent with respect to the incomplete implementation of the reforms. He has insisted that his dissent be recorded in the minutes of the meeting, proving the BCCI’s claim that the resolution was passed unanimously is inaccurate.

Sen has been engaged in the exercise to cleanse the DDCA, having circulated the new Constitution for approval from the members of the association.

At the last SGM of the DDCA, Sen had faced unruly resistance to the process and was forced to adjourn the meeting fearing safety of some members. He had sent a report of the incident to the High Court and has now called for a meeting at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Thursday to implement the reforms in their entirety.

At its SGM in Delhi, the BCCI members had decided to oppose the most contentious issues like the age, tenure, cooling-off period, size of selection committee and the division of responsibility between the management and the executive.

The matter will come up for hearing in the Supreme Court on August 18.