Rai-led panel pledges to bring 'undiluted' cricket to fans

Former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai, who heads the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (COA) of the BCCI, said on Thursday that the new panel is committed to bring cricket to the doorsteps of the fans in its "undiluted form".

Rai, who along with former India women's team captain Diana Edulji, historian Ramchandra Guha, and IDFC Managing Director and CEO Vikram Limaye were named by the apex court to supervise the working of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said the committee will restore the national cricket board back to its democratic set-up.

"The Supreme Court order came on January 30 and on February 4, I went abroad. I have just come back yesterday. So my experience has been very good," said Rai of his time at the board so far.

"There is absolutely no problem in handling BCCI because I sincerely believe that the number of cricket lovers in this country is humongous. We need to bring cricket to the doorstep of the cricket lovers in its undiluted form," Rai told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of Bandhan Bank's 805th branch, here.

"So BCCI needs good governance, we will provide that and restore it back to the democratic set-up that it should be," he added.

Commenting on his relation with the International Cricket Council (ICC) especially in the aftermath of the world cricket body's push to approve in principle the new constitution and revenue distribution model, Rai said: "There are no road-blocks with the International Cricket Council (ICC), none at all. I am absolutely confident that we will be able to do exactly the way it was meant to be."

"These are all formal channels, there is no personality issue involved in any of these. These are all well-structured agencies and we just have to ensure that they actually follow the structure that has been devised," he added.

On tainted pacer S. Sreesanth's threat of dragging the BCCI to court to contest his life ban, Rai said the Kerala bowler is welcome to go to the court if he has a case.

"I have absolutely no information about it. Those day-to-day issues will be handled by the management of the BCCI. If he has a case, he is welcome to go to court," he said.

The 34-year-old Sreesanth, who was banned for life by the BCCI due to his alleged involvement in the infamous 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing scandal, on Wednesday hinted he would be playing for a Kerala Club in a first division two-day game, commencing on Sunday.

--IANS

tri/sac