BCCI chooses to remain defiant of Lodha Committee recommendations

MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI), in its special meeting held today in New Delhi, decided to remain firm on its stand against implementing some of the Lodha Committee recommendations.

The special meeting, called by BCCI president Anurag Thakur, was to discuss the possible options to present before the Supreme Court on Monday, October 17.

“The BCCI and state associations have decided to stand firm on our earlier stance on the BCCI recommendations. There are practical difficulties in implementing the all the reforms that Justice Lodha has suggested,” said a senior board member.

The meeting saw the presence of the representatives of its full members, who reached on a consensus that some of the recommendations - 'One State One Vote, One person One post, age cap, and cooling off period' - remain unacceptable to the board.

The board feels that these recommendations are not possible to implement, practically. BCCI’s counsel Kapil Sibal will continue with his arguments on Monday.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had pulled up BCCI for not implementing the Lodha panel recommendations and had asked the Board to either fall in line or the court will make them do so. The three-member bench of the Apex Court headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur had postponed the case till October 17.

The court had also stopped the BCCI from releasing any funds to state associations, a decision taken by the BCCI in its September 30 AGM, until they give an unconditional undertaking agreeing to implement the reforms as recommended by the Lodha committee.

The court had also directed Anurag Thakur to file an affidavit if he had asked the ICC to write that Lodha Recommendations amounted to government interference.

Sources said Thakur's affidavit will be submitted to the court on Monday.

Meanwhile, only three cricket associations - Tripura, Rajasthan and Vidarbha have agreed to comply with all the reforms.