When Shashank Manohar became the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in October after the untimely demise of Jagmohan Dalmiya, it was expected that he was the right man to bring the Indian cricket administration back on track. But before he could do anything significant or implement the Justice RM Lodha Panel's recommendations, he decided to quit the post and became the ICC Chairman unopposed.
After his resignation, Manohar had said that he decided to quit as he was not capable of implementing the recommendations and see BCCI's structure collapsing. Newly-elected President Anurag Thakur said after his appointment that he will carry on the reforms process and will not run away from implementing the "practical" recommendations of the committee. But there has not been any significant development from the board on this since the panel gave its report on January 4, 2016.
Many of the state cricket boards were against the changes recommended and showed resistance to the structural reforms in the BCCI, but the Supreme Court pulled up the BCCI over its reluctance on many occasions, and now by accepting the majority of recommendations of the panel for the overhauling of Indian cricket administration and amending the BCCI Constitution, the SC has sent a clear message that it is serious to clean the game’s image in the country.
Other than the recommendation to impose restrictions on television advertisements during the broadcast of matches, the two-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice of India TS Thakur and Justice Ibrahim Kalifulla accepted all major recommendations.
No minister or government official can be an office-bearer of the national cricketing body, one state will have only one vote for representation at the BCCI and limiting the age bracket for cricket administrators at 70 were some of the key recommendations of the panel that the SC stood by.
The Lodha Panel, after investigating the illegal betting scandal and spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League 2013, had decided to suspend the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR) for two years. Former CSK team official Gurunath Meiyappan and RR's co-owner Raj Kundra were suspended for life from any cricketing activity undertaken by the board and and panel was appointed to look into the organisational structure and functioning of the BCCI.
Now the big task for the BCCI is to implement the changes approved by the court in the given time-frame of four to six months and honour the court’s directives. It is going to be a tough road ahead for the board as reforms suggested by the Lodha Committee will change the entire structure of Indian cricket administration. The exclusion of ministers and bureaucrats from holding posts the in the national cricketing body and the presence of a CAG (Comptroller and auditor general) nominee on the BCCI board will be two of the toughest points to implement.
But now that the SC has made a final call, the BCCI can’t to much but to work with RM Lodha and put into effect the changes suggested by the panel. Also, the board has to think that these changes will help Indian cricket in the run and shouldn’t take it as something that is forced upon them.