A day after the Supreme Court order that enforced a purge in the Board of Control for Cricket in India, it became clear that none of the five current vice presidents were eligible for the post of the interim president.
However, as per the Lodha Committee, this would not create a problem in the cricket board's function in the interim period as the remaining office bearers and the board's CEO Rahul Johri along with other employees will work with the ad hoc panel that is set to be constituted. It was also clarified that the senior selection committee would remain untouched for the time being.
“None of the five vice presidents are eligible. There is no issue if there is no interim president,” said a source close to the Lodha Committee.
Till on Monday, it was being assumed within the BCCI that C.K. Khanna, Gautam Roy and T.C. Mathew could be contenders. But all have been ruled out by virtue of not meeting the eligibility criteria laid down by the top court in its Monday order. This means that the remaining office bearers of the BCCI—Treasurer Anirudh Chowdhary and Jt Secretary Amitabh Choiwdhary—will dispense their duties even as the ad hoc panel will work in tandem with the BCCI employees starting with CEO Rahul Johri. Domestic cricket activities are unlikely to be affected.
As for the uncertainty over the existence of senior selection committee, which has not met the criterion set forth in the Lodha Committee report, it was learnt that the panel would remain completely unchanged till the ad hoc panel comes in place and decides otherwise. The selectors were set to meet on January 5 to select the ODI team for the England series at home. "The selection committee remains untouched . It is for the ad hoc panel to decide whether they want to change it or not," said the source.
Meanwhile, various state association bosses went into a huddle with their respective legal advisors. Former India skipper and Cricket Association of Bengal President Sourav Ganguly was briefed by the CAB's counsel Usha Nath Banerjee. CAB had put its Annual General Meeting on hold not wanting to fall foul of the apex court.
Karnataka State Cricket Association Secretary General and former cricketer Brijesh Patel resigned along with President Ashok Anand and Treasurer Dayanand Pai.
Many more such resignations are expected in the coming days. The top court in its order had clearly stated that the officials, who are not meeting the eligibility criteria, stand disqualified from the day the order is passed. Any official who continues will be guilty of contempt.
