BCCI gets time from Supreme Court to put its house in order

The Supreme Court on Monday gave the country’s cash-rich cricket governing body some breathing space when it reserved order relating to the implementation of the Justice Lodha Committee recommended structural reforms after the BCCI sought more time to comply with the order.

A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice T.S. Thakur reserved its order after hearing senior counsel Kapil Sibal for the BCCI and amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium urging the court to appoint interim administrators for the board. But earlier, the court found the affidavits of BCCI president Anurag Thakur and Ratnakar Shetty, general manager (cricket operations), contradictory.

The BCCI president, while refuting allegations that he was stonewalling implementation of the court’s order, stated in his affidavit that “Shashank Manohar (when he was BCCI president) had taken a view that the recommendations of Justice Lodha committee appointing the nominee of CAG on apex council would amount to government interference and might invoke an action of suspension from ICC; therefore requested him that being the ICC Chairman can a letter be issued.”

Mr Shetty said no letter was written to the ICC and that the ICC CEO David Richardson had given a false statement.

“Thakur admits that he had asked ICC chairperson (Shashank Manohar) for a letter while Ratnakar Shetty’s affidavit says he had not asked Do we go into inquiry and go to the bottom of it At every stage, there appears to be defiance and obstructionist approach”, the bench observed.