BCCI AGM on Sunday, modification of Lodha reforms tops agenda

The BCCI will hold its first AGM on Sunday, with former captain Sourav Ganguly at the helm seeking to dilute some key reforms mandated by the Supreme Court.

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly.

The outcome of the 88th Annual General Meeting of the BCCI at the Cricket Centre on Sunday could substantially diminish the new BCCI Constitution written by the now defunct Committee of Administrators (CoA) and accepted by the Supreme Court in August 2018.

While issuing notice for the AGM, the BCCI secretary Jay Shah has proposed amendments to six key clauses of the new BCCI Constitution.

Apex Court approval

The amendments — with explanatory notes given for the benefit of 38 members in the agenda notice — are likely to be adopted, but to make them legal and effective, the BCCI would have to place them before the Supreme Court for approval.

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The amendments seek to alter a touchy issue related to the cooling-off period for the office-bearers, namely the president and secretary. The BCCI has proposed to its members that the cooling-off period should come into effect after two consecutive term of three years each only in the BCCI and should not take into account their tenure as office-bearers in the State association.

Not practical

The BCCI also feels that it is not practical to seek the approval of the Supreme Court every time it makes an amendment. The other notable proposals are to remove the age cap of 70 for the BCCI’s representative to the ICC and similar organisations, making the Apex Council and the office-bearers powerful and the secretary supreme.

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The BCCI with a new governance structure called the Apex Council came into existence on October 23 this year, with Sourav Ganguly elected unopposed as the president and Jay Shah the secretary.

The AGM will also consider the report and recommendations of the Apex Council, the CEO and the committees and to propose policy directions to the Apex Council, report and recommendations of the Governing Council and to propose policy directions to the Governing Council, reports of the Ombudsman and Ethics Officer and any recommendations, among others.