Administrators urge Supreme Court to remove top BCCI officials
had passed a concussion test and would be available for the tour of Bangladesh, but would sit out the rest of the intra-squad match in Darwin, Australia’s Northern Territory.
“It’s good that Davey’s fine,” pacemen Pat Cummins said after close of play Tuesday. “He’s a little bit stiff and sore, but speaking to him then, he’s all fine.”
Focus on player safety has been heightened since the tragic death of Australian batsman Phillip Hughes.
Hughes, who played 26 Tests, died from bleeding on the brain in November 2014 after being hit on the base of the skull by a rising ball at the SCG during a domestic match.
The Committee of Administrators (CoA) has sought the removal of BCCI office-bearers, including acting president CK Khanna and secretary Amitabh Choudhary, for non-compliance of Lodha panel reforms. In its fifth Status Report submitted to the Supreme Court, the COA has also sought the removal of treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhry.
In a scathing report of 26 pages with 174 pages of annexure, the two-member CoA — comprising Vinod Rai and Diana Edulji — askedthat“governance,management and administration” of the board be handed over to them along with a professional group headed by CEO Rahul Johri till the elections are held.
“It is clear that current officebearers are not in a position to make good on their undertakings and ensure that reforms mandated by this Hon’ble Court are implemented.”
The CoA also mentioned that the Supreme Court order on July 24 was “deliberately misconstrued” during the BCCI’s Special General Meeting on July 26 where office-bearers asked Johri, the administrative staff and the legal team to leave the meeting.
In their status report submitted to the Apex Court, the CoA also demanded forensic audit of each state association under 3-member committee of a former Supreme Court judge on the lines of Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) and Hyderabad. The status report further says, “It’s clear state associations have no desire to implement reforms.”
The status report also mentions about BCCI’s failure to appoint an Ombudsman since Justice AP Shah’s tenure ended in September, 2016. The COA mentioned that despite giving the BCCI names of six retired judged, it entrusted the office bearers to take a call.
The other issue mentioned is “failure to adopt new conflict of interest” rules. The report mentions that there has been resistance to adopt a new fund disbursement policy as the addition of members would reduce the share of the existing units.