Kolkata: The two-member panel assigned by the Supreme Court (SC) to form the new Committee of Administrators for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suggested nine names on Friday. However, the apex court asserted that the number exceeded the limit. SC also said that some former cricketers were there in the list though the names were not disclosed. But the court ruled that some of them would be excluded from the list. The court will name the administrators on January 24 from the list given by the Amicus Curiae.
The Supreme Court also took to task the Amicus Curiae in the BCCI case, Gopal Subramaniam and Anil Divan asking them as to why the list of nine names also had people crossing the age limit of 70 contrary to what the Lodha Committee had recommended. Divan and Subramaniam were entrusted with the responsibility to assist in nominating able administrators by the apex court. A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra also directed that the names suggested by Divan and Gopal be not disclosed. The current turbulence in the BCCI will not affect Team India’s schedule as the board is now run by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the SC said.
The Supreme Court initially, was supposed to name the administrators on Thursday, but was deferred to Friday. The BCCI currently doesn’t have a president and a secretary, as both the then president, Anurag Thakur and secretary, Ajay Shirke were dismissed by it. The apex court asked Thakur to clarify why perjury charges would not be imposed on him for lying to the court. As of now, all eyes on January 24, when the SC announces the names of the new administrators of the BCCI.
A new period of transparency is expected now that the SC has stepped in to clean the affairs of the board. With full faith in the apex court, an ardent cricket fan will hope that whosoever takes charge of the BCCI, will ensure that no untoward incident puts a stain on the image of the board. After all, cricket is a religion in the country with a huge fan following.
(With inputs from NDTV & Agencies)