BCCI accepts several Lodha panel recommendations

Mumbai, Oct 1 (CRICKETNMORE): The Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) special general meeting on Saturday decided to accept some of the recommendations put forward by the Supreme Court appointed Justice Lodha Committee.

The meeting, which was adjourned on Friday due to technical reasons as several representatives from different state associations did not have correct authorisation letters, recommenced at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

The proper authority letters for all the representatives of the members attending the special general meeting were received. 

BCCI Secretary Ajay Shirke presented the new draft memorandum as proposed by the Lodha Committee and amended by the Supreme Court in its verdict on July 18.

With the Lodha panel recommendations demanding that the entire BCCI top brass including president Anurag Thakur be dismissed en masse, the special general meeting was expected to put up a show of defiance against the apex court's order.

The Supreme Court had lashed out at the BCCI earlier this week, warning that the board will be forced to comply with the Lodha panel verdict if they did not implement the suggested changes by October 6.

The officials attending Saturday's meeting however, accepted some of the recommendations although they continued to resist the order regarding the removal of the BCCI top brass.

It was also decided to form an apex council to look into the working of the BCCI as per the report submitted by the Lodha panel to the apex court. The representative of Comptroller and Auditor General will also be included as a member of the apex council as well as the Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council. 

"The BCCI has always been in favour of reforms and the last 18 months are evident of the fact that the board has undertaken many reforms. 

"Several significant important recommendations were adopted unanimously at the meeting," the board said in a statement. 

Apart form the formation of the apex council, some of the other significant decisions at the meeting were formation of a special committee for the differently abled and a committee for women's cricket.

The formation of the players' association and their representation in the committee was also agreed upon. The SGM authorized the BCCI CEO to contact the steering committee as proposed by the Lodha Committee and commence the formation of the cricket players association.

The members were also unanimous in giving voting rights to associate members as per the guidelines of the International Cricket Committee (ICC). Puducherry will also to be granted associate membership of the BCCI.

The SGM also accepted guidelines regarding code of conduct for players and team officials, anti-doping code, anti-racism code, anti-corruption code and operational rules as suggested by the Lodha Committee for implementation for the next IPL season.

The members also pointed out that while efforts will be made to ensure a 15-day gap between the national calendar and the IPL, the same will not be possible next year because of the ICC's Champions Trophy being scheduled in England at around the same time.

The agent registration norms as recommended by the Lodha panel was adopted unanimously.