SC judgement on Lodha committee report postpones CAB annual general meeting

Kolkata: The Supreme Court’s judgement on Lodha Committee’s report may have a bearing on the Cricket Association of Bengal which may postpone its much-anticipated annual general meeting slated for 31 July. [caption id=“attachment_2601464” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Sourav Ganguly. AFP[/caption] Former India captain and CAB president Sourav Ganguly, who’s likely to return to power uncontested at the AGM, on Tuesday took opinion from Board’s former legal advisor Usha Nath Banerjee. “We are taking legal advice. The process (to implement the recommendation) may take some time,” Ganguly told reporters without specifying whether the AGM is due for a postponement. In a landmark judgement on cricket reforms in India, the Supreme Court on Monday upheld almost all of the recommendations of the Justice R M Lodha Committee and hoped that the BCCI implements the same in six months’ time. Accepting the majority of the Justice Lodha Committee recommendations, the apex court on Monday gave the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) six months time to implement the recommendations and appointed R M Lodha to oversee the transition. The panel made a host of recommendations including one state one vote, ceiling on the number of terms a person could be an office bearer, age restriction of BCCI officials to 70 years and the presence of a CAG nominee on the BCCI board. With less than two weeks to go for the AGM, the verdict has landed CAB in a dilemma as it may end the hopes of its treasurer Biswarup Dey who has served the association in different capacities since 2005. “Other sports bodies can have administrators above the age of 70, then why this rule for cricket,” Dey, who is speculated to contest for the joint secretary post, has reacted. “CAB has a lot of people above 70 who can run the organisation well but it will be a problem for them too. The Supreme Court has given its verdict and the BCCI and the state associations should follow it. But it can lead to problems in the BCCI, I hope they will reconsider it,” Dey said.