Former Maharashtra Cricket Association president Abhay Apte feels state associations have found way to bypass Lodha Committee reforms

New Delhi: The basic tenet of Justice RM Lodha panel’s constitutional reforms for Indian cricket has fallen flat after most of the state units are being controlled by family members of disqualified office-bearers, feels former Maharashtra Cricket Association president member Abhay Apte. Former BCCI president N Srinivasan will continue to rule Tamil Nadu cricket through his daughter Rupa. Niranjan Shah’s son Jaydev is Saurashtra unit’s secretary, Anurag Thakur’s brother Arun is Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) supremo, tainted and jailed Ashirbad Behera’s son Sanjay is the new secretary of Odisha Cricket Association (OCA). [caption id=“attachment_3742285” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of N Srinivasan. Reuters[/caption] Not to forget Baroda where Chirayu Amin’s son Pranav is the new president and in Rajasthan where Ashok Gehlot’s son Keshav is taking over. “Yes, we have finally understood what precisely were the reforms suggested by Hon Justice Lodha Committee,” Apte, who was a prominent member of the BCCI legal committee, told PTI on Wednesday. Apte, a lawyer by profession, who was also a member of the BCCI’s legal committee, sarcastically said that he has now “understood” what Lodha Panel’s basic tenet of “no concentration of power and no multiple terms” meant. “No concentration of power and no multiple terms. Yes, we have now understood that. It means that the same person in the family cannot keep the control of an association in his hands forever. No way. He has to give it to the other member of his family. May be his son, daughter, brother etc,” Apte’s sarcasm was sharp. Conflict of Interest was always about perception more than legality as the trend of state unit elections or rather selections indicate. “And it’s perfectly fine and legal. All are happy. No concentration of power and no multiple terms and of course no conflict!” He made a tongue in cheek remark about a possible “next set of reforms” for Indian cricket. “Maybe in the next set of reforms the exact succession can also be laid down. Like the Indian succession act, we can have one for Indian cricket.” In fact, what amuses Apte is the fact that it’s the cricketers only, who have borne the maximum brunt of these ‘Conflict of Interest’ charges. The great cricketers like Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, who served Indian cricket with distinction but are facing alleged conflict charges (of course there are rules for that) should quickly learn from this. After all the rules must be followed.