Another shocker for Ajay Shirke as Lodha checkmates MCA

The Justice Lodha Commission has finally put an end to sacked BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke’s ambition to be Maharashtra Cricket Association’s (MCA) representative in board’s meetings.

Answering the queries of 22 state cricket associations, the panel made it clear on Thursday that a cricket administrator can only be in a position for a total of nine years cumulative whether it’s in state unit or in the Board of Control for Cricket in India. 

This ended speculations that state and BCCI tenures would be counted differently, thus allowing any individual to occupy a position for a total of period of 18 years. 

This is another setback for Shirke on the after DNA reported on how a trail of emails show he tried to stop England team’s tour by calling up ECB president Giles Clarke and raising security concerns after he was sacked by Supreme Court on January 2”. 

With questions being asked about MCA’s decision to appoint Shirke as its representative in BCCI, Lodha clarified: “In keeping with the spirit of the SC’s judgement a disqualified office-bearer is no longer to be associated with cricket administration. 

“He/She is disqualified from being a representative or nominee of the member association or the BCCI and cannot discharge any other role in or behalf of the association or the BCCI. He/She cannot function within the association in any patron or advisory capacity nor be a member of a committee or council.”

However, the seven-point response of Lodha also came as a shock to former India skipper Sourav Ganguly as he too would need to go for a cooling off period after being in secretary or president’s position since June 2014. 
Similarly, Cricket Association of Bengal’s treasurer Biswarup Dey will become ineligible for life as he has already completed a decade as an administrator. 

This means that even if Ganguly contests BCCI elections, he would have to relinquish his post in June 2017. 

“This is to avoid any potential abuse. For example, if there were no such bar, an office-bearer could resign after two years and nine months and then claim eligibility to stand at the next election three months later on the ground that a new term would commence,” Lodha panel clarified.

In an answer to another query related to post of assistant secretary, assistant treasurer, director or any other post that is not defined as an ‘office-bearer’ in the report, Lodha panel said that “if the constitution/bylaws of the state/member association has defined the post (assistant secretary, assistant treasurer, director etc) as an office-bearer post, then the tenure of an individual in any of those posts will be reckoned while determining whether the 9 year period has been completed”.

There is bad news for Rajasthan and Hyderabad cricket associations that “if associations don’t have pending cases against them, they can go ahead with elections conforming to the new set of reforms”.

Another question was whether elections can be conducted for the member associations before the due amendments are made to their Constitutions/Bye-laws bringing them in line with the judgement.

“It would be prudent in the circumstances for such elections to be conducted under the guidance of the administrators to be appointed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court.”