Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has admitted that "it will be tough" to imagine an Indian Premier League edition without Mahendra Singh Dhoni after the Supreme Court appointed Justice Lodha Committee decided to suspend Chennai Super Kings for two years.
'Not every county plays county cricket in England and not every state plays shield cricket in Australia'
The popular but troubled Indian Premier League (IPL) will take place next year notwithstanding the suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals but the Champions League was scrapped for lack of fan interest.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India, on Tuesday, moved the Supreme Court seeking disbursal of funds for conducting Rajkot Test that starts on Wednesday.
The Committee of Administrators (CoA) has suggested the Supreme Court to take stern action against those named in the Justice Mudgal panel dossier, currently in a sealed envelope with the apex court.
The Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI has proposed six major amendments to the existing constitution which was adopted last year keeping in tune with the reforms suggested by the Justice Lodha committee.
The Delhi and District Cricket Association on Wednesday refused to implement the Justice Lodha Committee's recommendations which could have direct ramifications on the functioning of BCCI's state units. The managing committee of DDCA met here to review and deliberate on various observations of the Lodha Committee, and was not quite convinced about most of the major recommendations calling for sweeping reforms in the BCCI's governing structure. The DDCA is not on the same page with Lodha panel on major issues like elections and terms of office bearers, DDCA office bearers simultaneously holding a post in BCCI, proxy voting and conflict of interest among others. On the issue of one person holding one post, the DDCA, in a statement signed by vice-presidents Chetan Chauhan and CK Khanna, said: "We the managing committee of DDCA feel that it is the freedom of concerned state associations, to decide (whether) the appointment of office bearers would affect/restrict administrative function of DDCA or not. "So long members of the executive committee (directors) do not feel that the functioning of DDCA is being jeopardized, there cannot be any justified reason in imposing this clause." The controversial cricket body is in favour of continuation of proxy voting.
Pushed into a corner by the Supreme Court after failing to comply with the Justice R M Lodha Panel recommendations, the beleaguered Board of Control for Cricket in India appears to have been left with no option but to adopt them in totality at its Special General Meeting in Mumbai on Friday.
Mumbai Cricket Association president Sharad Pawar will quit his position in six months' time after the state body accepted the Supreme Court verdict on sweeping reforms in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and its affiliates in toto.
High drama was witnessed at the Board of Control for Cricket in India's crucial Working Committee meeting in Kolkata on Friday over the presence of Narayanswami Srinivasan, prompting president Jagmohan Dalmiya to adjourn it sine die over lack of legal clarity on the sidelined former chief's status.
The BCCI said that forming a working group is aimed at finding the procedures to implement the order and should not be seen as a delaying tactic.
In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on Monday removed Board of Control for Cricket in India president Anurag Thakur, while secretary Ajay Shirke was also removed from his post.
Former India skipper Rahul Dravid says the Justice Lodha committee's decision to ban Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals from the Indian Premier League for two years will affect the young players, but the verdict of the Supreme Court-appointed panel must be respected.
Stung by the suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals from the Indian Premier League, the Board of Control for Cricket in India's top officials are working out a contingency plan to ensure that the high-profile league remains an eight-team affair.
Aditya Verma, the secretary of the Cricket Assocition of Bihar (CAB), has lodged a complaint with BCCI's Ombudsman Justice Ajit Prakash Shah that the Board's joint secretary Amitabh Choudhary has conflict of interest and wants the matter to be investigated.
Test series victories over Sri Lanka and South Africa ensured Virat Kohli could justify the team's failures earlier in the year.
The Supreme Court came down heavily on cash-rich BCCI on Tuesday, saying the cricket body was running like a "mutually beneficial society" and "practically corrupting" its members by not seeking any explanation on how crores of rupees allotted to them were being spent. While scrutinising the fund allocation and expenses of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the apex court also pulled it up for not giving funds to neglected states for promotion of cricket and said it has done nothing to encourage the game. It was also critical of the discrimination meted out to different states by BCCI and said the states begged for money from the board which follows a "no questions asked" policy as a method to buy votes in a certain manner. Lauding the work done by Justice R M Lodha-led committee for bringing out massive structural change in functioning of BCCI, the bench said "this is not an ordinary panel. It is a committee on which we have complete faith. It is committee of judges and its findings have to be relied upon. We cannot say that the findings are perverse."
'You hold the meeting. Act on the Lodha committee's recommendations as to which will be implemented and which will not be implemented. You send only your office bearers. Do not send N Srinivasan and Niranjan Shah. We do not want to make it adverserial," it said, adding, "we do not want the meeting to be stalled'
With the BCCI threatening to call off the ongoing series between India and New Zealand, the Justice R M Lodha led panel on Tuesday clarified that they didn't direct the banks to freeze the accounts of the Board and it should carry on with its routine expenses. Fuming at the defiance of its recommendations, the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha panel had "directed" banks, where BCCI holds accounts, not to disburse "large" funds to the state associations, a decision taken by the Board at its Special General Meeting on September 30.
In his first media interaction after taking over as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Anurag Thakur on Sunday made it clear that the BCCI is not running away from implementing the recommendations suggested by the Supreme Court-appointed Justice Lodha Committee, however, he clarified that it is not possible to implement all the changes. He gave reference to the one particular recommendation which says that no advertisements should be shown between overs during a live match on television, which he believes will affect the revenues of the BCCI and in turn affect everyone connected to the Board including the former, current and future players. "If you look at the reports, IPL is the fastest growing league in the world, which in itself is a great achievement for the BCCI. They have worked well, the franchises have contributed. If you look at the other side of it, where do you get the major revenues from? It is from the home series. And your revenue comes from where? It is from the advertisements," Thakur said.
The Supreme Court has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India to follow the recommendations of the Justice R M Lodha Committee and "save trouble".
Using a sledgehammer to fix some ills can cut down a game at its peak, warns Shekhar Gupta.
'Where betting is legalised it is heavily regulated and they work in close conjunction with us, so it does assist us' 'Sometimes these corruptors are like paedophiles and what I mean by that analogy is that they are prepared to spend a long time particularly grooming young players'
'The BCCI is one of the best administrative bodies in the world.' 'In a democratic set-up there will always be a power struggle, that is part of every society or every association, but it does not mean we have done something bad.' 'We have done everything possible we could for the game.'
More runs from Virat Kohli. India winning the World T20 at home. A controversy-free IPL and more is what Harish Kotian/Rediff.com wants this year.
The Supreme Court bench comprising of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud warned if there is a false statement given by BCCI office bearers on affidavit, then perjury or contempt proceedings could be initiated.
'This is the only country where success seems to be viewed as a bad thing.' 'Other governments and countries go out of their way to protect a successful organisation. Here we find ways of destroying it.'
Having stepped down as president of the embattled Indian Cricket Board that is facing the heat from the Supreme Court, Shashank Manohar said he quit as he was not capable of implementing the recommendations of the Justice Lodha Committee and see BCCI's structure collapsing.
'The main reason for having neutral venues for the Ranji Trophy is to make it more competitive and less affected by doctoring of wickets.' 'There is no reason why people shouldn't be able to see Virat Kohli playing a Ranji Trophy match at any location.'
'At that time the Delhi police was reeling under various controversies. This case was more of an attention diversion.'