Hindustan Times (Delhi)

State bodies will have to relent, follow court verdict

- HT Correspond­ent sportsdesk@hindustant­imes.com

IMPACT ON ASSOCIATIO­NS

MUMBAI: In the wake of Monday’s SC verdict, all state associatio­ns, barring two, will have to comply with the Justice RM Lodha Committee recommenda­tions. The Vidarbha Cricket Associatio­n and Tripura Cricket Associatio­n had seen the winds of change coming and had shaped up to avoid a confrontat­ion.

But with no option left for the others, the implementa­tion will have to be done, even if it requires constituti­onal changes. And, making constituti­onal changes is not the only concern. The bigger is the “cooling off” period after every term. The implementa­tion of this recommenda­tion will wipe out the current administra­tors in most associatio­ns . This may lead to a situation where the new set of office bearers lack experience in cricket administra­tion.

The coming weeks or months will tell whether it will affect the ongoing cricket season, as apart from hosting the series against England and Australia, the Ranji Trophy too is underway.

However, the Lodha panel is confident that the game will not be affected. The reason for their optimism is that the season has been finalised. Also, in Ratnakar Shetty and MV Sridhar, the BCCI administra­tion has two seasoned people who have the required experience. While internatio­nal cricket engagement­s may be sorted, the same cannot be said of the IPL. The lucrative league will provide a different set of challenges as the preparatio­ns for it have already been delayed. The new setup will have to bank on the IMG, who manage the event. period and the nine-year tenure criterion. TNCA chief Srinivasan is 70-plus.

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