SC CHOKES BCCI’S FUND FLOW

The committee has recommended appointment of a CAG nominee to bring transparency into the BCCI, which the top court approved in July.

Friday’s directives are the latest in the face-off between the judiciary and the BCCI that has been accused of cherry-picking directives made by the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha panel.

Both directives might impact domestic cricket.

For one, the BCCI is set to award lucrative media rights to its domestic league, the Indian Premier League (IPL), for 10 years early next year. Squeezing of funds to state units could also hamper competitions.

The funds freeze is unlikely to affect the state units’ functioning immediately as they are believed to have substantial money in their accounts as the BCCI has released huge sums in August.

But the ongoing Ranji Trophy tournament could be disrupted if they plead a financial crunch.

The BCCI says it wants to implement the reforms, but many of the state associations are opposed to it.

The court ruled that the state associations must submit affidavits committing to compliance with the Lodha panel’s recommendations in order to receive funds from the BCCI.

The court refrained from appointing officials to take over the BCCI’s administrative work and gave time till December 3 to adopt measures that Justice Lodha has recommended.

“Implementation of the final judgment of this court has been impeded by the intransigence of BCCI and its office-bearers …,” the bench said, ordering the board to file a compliance report in two weeks.