CAB secretary urges Lodha Committee to push for BCCI reforms

Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) secretary Aditya Verma has written to the Justice Lodha Committee, requesting the body to recommend administrative reforms in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Verma was furious that the BCCI had allowed N. Srinivasan to attend the recent working committee meeting in Kolkata despite the fact that the tainted former president was supposed to stay away from the board's meetings due to conflict of interest issues.

Verma alleged that the BCCI has been hijacked by the vested interests of a handful of officials.

"BCCI, even though has been held to be amenable to writ jurisdiction, is functioning more like a private club of few individuals having vested interest.

"Since Mr Srinivasan was insisting on attending the working committee, the working committee had to be adjourned sine die and several lakhs spent for the meeting were wasted. Consequently the date for the AGM was also not fixed. Hence, the AGM was also not held as usual in the month of September, 2015," Verma wrote in the letter.

The BCCI had sought the opinion of the Supreme Court last week on whether Srinivasan could attend the meetings of the national cricket body as the authorised representative of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA).

Verma however, lashed out at the move, alleging that a section of BCCI officials are unwilling to take concrete steps against Srinivasan.

"Except to leak information to the press that BCCI is moving the Supreme Court for clarification on the question whether Mr Srinivasan can attend the working committee, no concrete steps have been taken by BCCI to seek clarification from the Supreme Court. It is also a moot point whether the Supreme Court will entertain such an application from BCCI which is unable to deal with Mr Srinivasan," he added.

"It is in these circumstances that I am writing this letter requesting the committee to take note of the above situation and recommend administrative reforms to the BCCI rules and regulations so that these kind of situations arising out of BCCI, not being able to take decisions against Srinivasan and postponing the AGM contrary to the normal convention of holding the AGM in the month of September as per the rules and regulations of BCCI do not arise."