In one of the most bizarre rules in the recent past, the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrator has asked the Indian captain and coach to decide on travel schedule of the WAGs and this has taken the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials by absolute surprise. Also, this is an aberration of the judgement passed by the Lodha Committee.
Lodha has put the ball in the court of Ethics Officer D.K. Jain and said that he should take a stand and put aside any move which is not complying with the orders of the newly registered constitution as per the proposals of the Lodha panel.
'Ethics officer should take a call'
"What can I say? The Ethics Officer is there now to decide. What do I say? Everyone is interpreting it (the Lodha panel's proposals) in their own way. Our recommendations are in place and based on that I was told the constitution was framed. As and when issue arises, the Ethics Officer should take a call," he told news agency IANS.
There is a clear disappointment in the tone and even believes that after this new diktat, there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
"Absolutely nothing has happened in two years. We wanted to see the report being implemented as approved by the Supreme Court, but more than two years have passed and we don't see any light at the end of the tunnel," he pointed.
Also, there was a senior BCCI official which said that this move to allow the captain (Virat Kohli) and coach (Ravi Shastri at present) to take a call on the travel duration of the WAGs was a clear case of conflict of interest.
"The essence of conflict of interest is that when you are taking a decision of which you are yourself a beneficiary, that is conflict. I think the CoA is like an unfettered entity which has moved away from any limitations it may have originally perceived on account of the Supreme Court order on the Lodha Committee report," he said.
There is also this feeling which is echoed by several BCCI officials which says that the recent turn of events and few of the decisions taken by the CoA prove that they believe they are above even the Supreme Court.
"Some of the recent decisions of the CoA clearly shows that they feel they are above the apex court because certain decisions they have taken can only be taken by the honourable court," the official said.
The ball is well and truly in the court of Ethics Officer Jain and how he deciphers the entire turn of events. Also, a member of the CoA has made it clear that the resolution passed is not a unanimous one.
