Lodha panel meets state cricket bodies

Discuss polls, administration and other issues in the wake of apex court's Jan 2 order

State cricket associations had a meeting in Delhi on Wednesday with the R M Lodha committee, appointed by the Supreme Court (SC) to streamline how the game is administered.

On January 2, the SC had removed the president and secretary of the Board for Contol of Cricket in India (BCCI), for not obeying directions based on what Lodha had recommended.

How to handle these 'rebels' was among the issues discussed on Wednesday. Elections to the state bodies and other administrative issues were on the agenda.

There was also discussion, said sources, of how the upcoming one-day and T-20 series between India and England would be conducted. The first one-day match begins this Sunday in Pune.

State bodies, it is learnt, wanted clarity on implementing the panel's recommendations and had queries on these. Also, on scheduled tournaments such as the Under-19 series between India and England in February and the 10th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in April.

Both the IPL franchise owners workshop to be held on January 10 and the IPL player auctions in February have been postponed in the absence of the SC-removed administrators including BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke, who were asked to relinquish their positions on January 2.

State associations also have few eligible administrators on their panels in the wake of the January 2 order. The Lodha panel has asked for names the state bodies can suggest for elections, to be held once the BCCI election is over, six months down the line. An interim team of administrators will be announced on January 19.

The bigger concern for the Lodha panel has been the emergence of a group of 'rebels', led by former BCCI president N Srinivasan. Also having Anurag Thakur and Ajay Shirke, the president and secretary removed by the SC on January 2; also, IPL governing council chairman Rajeev Shukla. They met on Saturday, to discuss what to do after the SC verdict.

Rahul Johri, chief executive officer at BCCI, is presently in charge of day-to-day working at the body, in consultation with the Lodha panel. He'd found himself in a crossfire between the Lodha panel and the rebel group on January 6, the day the Indian team that would play the one-day international and T-20 series was announced. The meeting of the selection panel to decide on the composition of the team was delayed and then held in the evening, after which the names were announced.