A whole range of issues will be discussed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India in a special general meeting in Mumbai on Friday. The meeting is considered to be one of the most important in recent times as the board is expected to discuss the recommendations made by the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Committee.
The important recommendations set to be discussed in the SGM are voting rights (one state, one vote), no politicians in the board, age limit, BCCI under RTI act and many more. The Supreme Court has given BCCI a deadline of March 3 to reply to the recommendations set by the Lodha Committee.
Even before the Lodha Committee came up with their own set of recommendations, people outside the BCCI wanted the board to be more transparent, and the need for the cricket body to come under the RTI was also felt. However the BCCI has always been reluctant to come under the act.
"The BCCI generates its own funds and so it can't be compared to other sports bodies," ESPN Cricinfo quoted a BCCI official as saying.
"When you bring the BCCI under the ambit of the RTI some of the questions that we would eventually end up getting are about why 'A' wasn't selected and why 'B' was. How can we disclose aspects of selection in public?"
The committe has also recommended the BCCI to do away with involvement of politicians in cricket bodies. However, such kind of trend is seen across all sports bodies in India, including football.
The BCCI does not seem to be too keen on following it either, for they believe that the politicians and bureaucrats help them to smooth over problems, particularly one involving the government, be that the state or the centre.
"When you try to organise a match, there are many issues to handle that involve the police, corporation, commercial taxes and other aspects of state machinery," president of a state association said.
"You need somebody to shield you, and also a politician or a bureacrat's administrative abilities cannot be discounted."
One believes that Lodha Commitee's recommendation on voting rights could have a huge impact on many cricket associations. The Lodha report has made it clear that only one association from a state will have the right to vote.
For instance the state of Maharasthra has three cricket associations and Gujarat has two. There is a history related with some of these associations and they might not been too keen to step back.
"It doesn't make any sense. Who are the 74 people that the Justice Lodha Committee spoke to? This one has been mentioned arbitrarily without understanding the history of the game in India," The Times of India quoted a senior BCCI official as saying.
The Lodha panel has also suggested the BCCI not to involve people above 70 years in office.
