BCCI chief opposes Pillai as observer
NEW DELHI (DHNS): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has opposed the Lodha committee’s recommendation to appoint former Home Secretary G K Pillai to keep an eye on the working of the cricket body. Appointed by the Supreme Court, the panel had recently suggested that Pillai be named observer to oversee the BCCI’s operations.
“The Lodha Committee cannot shift the responsibility of overseeing the affairs of the BCCI to another third party, who does not have any expertise of running cricket in India and has no established credentials,” BCCI president Anurag Thakur said in an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court. The apex court, which was to take up the matter, will now consider the BCCI’s submission on Friday. Thakur also maintained the removal of democratically elected office-bearers would result in no benefit to cricket. He argued it would “instead paralyse administration immediately, creating great chaos in the game”.
Such an appointment would have a direct impact on the representation of the BCCI at various international organisations such as the International Cricket Council, he contended. Thakur also claimed the move would severely weaken cricket administration all over the country and “make the BCCI a weak organisation”. He also said the Lodha committee had failed to guide the BCCI on matters of administration. “No guidance has been received from the committee so far in terms of the orders passed by this court,” he said.
He said the failure had affected the BCCI in many ways, and caused it to default on its duties. The BCCI president also claimed he was “totally incapable and without any authority” to force the 30 members to adopt a memorandum as proposed by the committee. Referring to the November 21 status report recommending Pillai’s appointment, Thakur said it only showed that the Lodha panel did not want to interact with the BCCI or its office-bearers.