BCCI & state units stick to their stand

There is anxiety in the BCCI circles with the Supreme Court due to deliver a verdict on the Justice RM Lodha Committee recommendations on December 5. While the Indian cricket board remains firm on its stand against three recommendations -one-state-one-vote, cooling off period and age cap of 70 -it took one last shot at getting all its affiliated associations on the same page at the special general meeting (SGM) here on Friday .

Three state associations - Vidarbha, Hyderabad and Tripura - had agreed to implement the Lodha panel's recommendations. However, it is learnt that Hyderabad and Tripura have not submitted their resolutions to the BCCI. "Hyderabad and Tripura have not given anything in writing. One can't say about Vidarbha because they are likely to stick to their stand," a senior BCCI official told TOI on Friday .

Interestingly, Vidarbha and Tripura didn't have any representative at the meeting. BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke claimed the BCCI was informed that the officials couldn't make it to the meeting because of flight cancellations due to fog.

Shirke insisted that the board isn't averse to a majority of the recommendations. "There was a feeling that members have different opinions and the meeting was called to explain the situation and clarify. They (associations) reiterated their stand which was taken in the first SGM on October 1. Almost all recommendations were agreed upon, except a few. We will wait for the Supreme Court's hearing on Dec 5," Shirke told reporters after the meeting.

It is learnt that the affiliated units have been asked to ready with a plan if the SC judgment doesn't go in BCCI's favour. "It was decided that a meeting will be called immediately in case of a strong verdict. All state associations have different constitutions and each can only be amended with a 34th majority . There has to be a Plan B for everything," a BCCI source informed.

Sub-committee meetings stalled:

The BCCI's sub-committee meetings have taken a backseat in the past two months. "The committees pertaining to cricketing affairs have not been conducted due to a cash crunch. The previous finance committee was important and it was conducted on the day the board called its SGM," the official told TOI. Barring the selection committee, no committee has met.