We are not going to supervise playing of cricket, says SC

"We are not going to supervise playing of cricket", the Supreme Court Thursday told the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) which sought listing of its plea that players from outside the state be allowed to play in the upcoming TN Premier League.

A bench comprising Justices S A Bobde and B R Gavai said TNCA should raise this issue before the BCCI ombudsman or the apex court appointed amicus curiae, who is assisting the court in the case.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the matter for urgent listing before the bench and said that the state cricket association wanted players from outside Tamil Nadu to participate in the TNPL.

The bench asked Sibal whether the association has approached the Committee of Administrators (CoA) on the issue.

Sibal said TNCA approached CoA in May but no decision has been taken by them till now.

"We will ask the CoA to decide it," the bench said.

Senior advocate Parag Tripathi, appearing for CoA, claimed that TNCA has not been cooperating and they have not yet adopted the newly approved constitution of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

"Do you want to punish the players who come from outside (the state). Our constitution has been now registered. Players cannot be penalised like this," Sibal said.

To this, the bench observed, "We are not going to supervise playing of cricket".

When Sibal said that if the court would not supervise it then where will they go, the bench observed, "You just play the game".

Sibal then said that there are two players from outside the state who are neither part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) nor they are in the international cricket team and there was no harm in allowing them to play the TNPL.

"Can the ombudsman decide it?," the bench asked.

To this, Tripathi said that ombudsman or the amicus can be asked to sort out the issue.

The top court had earlier appointed former apex court judge Justice (retd) D K Jain as the ombudsman of BCCI.

Senior advocate P S Narasimha was appointed as an amicus curiae to assist the apex court in the BCCI matter.

The court had earlier asked Narasimha to act as an mediator to resolve various disputes related to cricket administration in the country.

It had also restrained all other courts in India from entertaining or proceeding with any matter pertaining to the BCCI and state cricket associations.

In 2017, the apex court had appointed CoA, headed by former Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Vinod Rai, to run the affairs of the BCCI and implement the court-approved recommendations of the Justice R M Lodha panel on reforms in the cash-rich cricket body.