The ongoing battle between the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Committee is making life difficult for the cricket board. The BCCI has not yet accepted the reforms, and is yet to file an affidavit for the same, which has put the upcoming India vs England series in doubt.
The English team are already in India, preparing for the tough tour ahead, with the first Test starting in Rajkot on Wednesday. Just few days remain for the series to start and the BCCI and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have not signed the much needed Memorandum of Understanding, which also mentions that the host nation will bear maximum expenses.
The ECB have been told about the existing situation under which they cannot sign the MoU, which puts the series under a huge risk.
"We have informed the ECB that as per the Supreme Court's order, without the approval of the Lodha Committee, we cannot enter into any contract and clear payments. Hence, we won't be able to execute the MoU with the ECB, which is a guarantee to bear the expenses for hosting the visiting team. 'You can continue with the tour at your cost and peril,'" Hindustan Times quoted a BCCI official as saying.
The situation has come to such as the BCCI has also not agreed upon some of the reforms suggested by the Lodha Committee, who wants to make the cricket board transparent in all its functioning. The board was given a deadline, and the BCCI had to file an affidavit, which they have not done so far.
If the India-England series does not take place, the Lodha panel believes BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke are to be blamed.
"President and Secretary as per SC direction have to file affidavits in 2 weeks and then appear before the Committee. They have done neither. President BCCI also has to furnish undertaking to the Committee. That has also not been done. In the absence of all this, the England tour is being put in jeopardy by Thakur and Shirke," Press Trust of India quoted a source within the Justice Lodha-led panel as saying.
