BCCI vs Lodha Panel: Here are the key reforms and instances where BCCI refused to reform

Entire top brass of the BCCI might be removed by the Supreme Court following failure to recieve unconditional undertaking.

New Delhi: World's most powerful and richest cricketing board, the BCCI is on course to face a possible leadership crisis on Friday as the Supreme Court gears up to punish the sports body for constantly refusing to implement the reforms suggested by the RM Lodha headed panel.

“If you are giving an unconditional undertaking that you are abiding by all conditions by Friday, we will wait, otherwise we are passing orders,” chief justice TS Thakur told the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The Lodha Panel, headed by former the former Chief Justics of India himself, has accused BCCI of opting the pick-and-choose policy when it comes to applying the suggested reforms.

Here the some of the key reforms suggested by the Lodha Panel, approved by the Supreme Court:-

1. One state, one vote - This recommendation reduces at least four existing associations from being full members of the BCCI to associates.

2. An age limit of 70 years for administrators – The Court said that the upper age limit of 70 is not an unusual or unacceptable norm.

3. Ministers and civil servants cannot be administrators - The game would be better managed, promoted and developed if politicians and civil servants were made ineligible from holding any post in state associations or the BCCI.

4. Office bearers cannot hold posts at BCCI and state level - One person could not be allowed to hold both a state and BCCI post because of conflict of interest issues.

5. A three-year cooling off period for administrators and a nine-year tenur - This particular tenure clause blocks a potential candidate from being an office-bearer for two- to three-year terms in the proposed Apex Council (replacing the Working Committee).

Here are the instance where Lodha reforms have been rejected by the BCCI:-

1. Senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam told the Supreme Court that the BCCI defied the Lodha Committee’s directive by transferring large sums of money — over 500 crores— to the state associations, hence refusing to follow the panel's disbursement policy mandated by the September 30 deadline.

2. The BCCI objected to Lodha panel’s suggestion of having representatives (one male cricketer and one female) of the Player Association at the Apex Council.

3. The BCCI also objected against giving full vote to the Northeast states as recommended by the Lodha panel. The BCCI has said it will give voting rights to the Associate members as per the ICC guidelines - three Associate and Affiliate members form one vote in the ICC.

4. The BCCI was supposed to adopt the new draft memorandum by September 30 as per the proposed guidelines of the Lodha Committee. The board, however, defied by opting the selective recommendations only.

5. The Lodha Committee had asked for at least a 15-day breather between the IPL and the national calendar. BCCI, however, stated that, “effort to ensure a 15-day gap between the national calendar and the IPL – the same will not be possible in the year 2017 because of the ICC’s Champions Trophy being scheduled in England at around the same time.”

6. The biggest of all! BCCI conducted the Annual General Meeting, despite the Lodha Committee’s guidelines to not do any trasaction regarding new business for the 2016-17 yearThe vacant spots in the selection panels of the men's and women's teams was filled by electing Ajay Shirke as the BCCI secretary.

However, there are a few reforms that were implemented by the BCCI.