BCCI’s SC Verdict: Glass Half Empty, But Still Some Positives

The Supreme Court approved the draft Constitution of the BCCI.

The curtain is finally being drawn on the longest saga in Indian cricket with a landmark verdict by the Supreme Court on Thursday.

In what is absolutely a travesty of justice, the Supreme Court undid its own reforms by diluting two key clauses in the Justice Lodha recommendations. This was an absolute tragedy, because the Supreme Court has undone the hard work of Justice Lodha and his panel.

The two main recommendations that were diluted on Thursday related to what the old BCCI guard has always wanted: power.

There was a canard spread that the one-state-one-vote recommendation would lead to the end of the rich cricketing legacy in old powerhouses like Baroda and Mumbai, amongst others. The fact is that the only thing that would have gone would have been the vote on the table of BCCI meetings, nothing more nothing less.

If the funds were to be disbursed as before and the Ranji team was to be fielded as before, the lack of a vote amounts to nothing really. The state of Maharashtra had four members as per the old constitution, and there was a proposal to have votes by rotation. Unfortunately vested interests made it sound as if the rich legacy of cricket in certain parts would have ended.

One key reason for pushing for a change in BCCI was the fact that its constitution was untouched since 1929, except for some rules on terms for key office-bearers. The constitution for BCCI was drafted at a time when cricket was limited to major metros and states. For Maharashtra and Gujarat to have seven votes amongst themselves was a reflection of the way the sport was structured back in the day. Now with cricket spreading to other corners of the country, it is important for the constitution or its make up to reflect the same. But this has been stonewalled successfully.

Back in the day even the iconic Cricket Club of India (CCI) and National Cricket Club of Kolkata were even included as members. These are essentially non-playing voters of BCCI, used by the powers that be for their own ends. This fortunately will not continue any longer in the only good part of the order which ended the membership of these two Clubs.

However, institutional members like Railways, Services and Universities will continue to have votes. This means that the government of the day will have a say in the BCCI via backdoor. Railways and Services are great employers for sportspersons, but is it necessary for them to have a vote?

They anyway have fielded teams in domestic cricket for long. But despite the vote, and the regular grants, there is no change in the facilities provided by them. Similarly, Universities do not have a team in domestic cricket, there is an inter-university competition, but little else. This is yet another attempt to have some voters in the bag for pushing self-serving amendments.

‘Cooling Off Period’ Recommendation Amended

In a sense the Supreme Court have managed to retain the core of the Lodha reforms. But there is one reform which has been amended. This relates to the cooling off period for the honorary officials who are at the crux of the problem in the administration of BCCI.

Justice Lodha’s panel had recommended a cooling off after one term at any level, whereas the latest Supreme Court order has decreed that it will be a cooling off after two terms.

The crux of the Justice Lodha reforms was to put the administration of BCCI and in effect all sports federations on the path of pure professionalism. The cooling off period were meant for the honorary officials who were to be nominal in the overall scheme of things. The real power would have rested in the hands of the management team led by a CEO and qualified professionals. The amendment to the cooling off period has put paid to those hopes.

Indian cricket and sport administration in general in the country is stuck in a time warp. Justice Lodha reforms would have fast forwarded it to the present.

Onus Now on State Associations

The only saving grace in the latest order is the fact that all state associations are now duty bound to implement the constitution within a fixed time frame. The cracking of the whip should hopefully start now. We have all seen despite the lofty claims by the old guard of the BCCI, most state associations are in a royal mess. The real problem lies there.

Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi, Assam, Goa, Hyderabad, Mumbai are but some of the associations facing scrutiny from their respective High Courts. If that in itself not an indication of the rot that has set in thanks to the old opaque amateur system, nothing else is.

Now with the saga finally coming to an end, we can also hopefully see an end to the letter bombs that are delivered by gullible journalists on the internet and in newspapers on behalf of the warring factions. The war as it were will hopefully finally end. All the appointments, steps taken in the past 18 months will finally not be stonewalled anymore.

The only saving grace from the order is that the BCCI has come a long way from the time the process of changing the way it functions began five years ago. From now on, it can only go forward rather than look back at a time when there was no accountability.

The two clauses that were tweaked may have crept in thanks to stubbornness of the old guard, but the overall nature and spirit of the reforms is here to stay.

Now, hopefully this will lead to a wave of changes in number of sports federations which are similarly in crying need for a change.

(Chandresh Narayanan is former cricket writer with The Times of India, The Indian Express, ex-Media Officer for ICC and current media manager of Delhi Daredevils. He is also the author of World Cup Heroes, Cricket Editorial consultant, professor and cricket TV commentator.)