The last meeting of the Working Committee, scheduled to be held here on Friday evening, before the Annual General Meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India has listed a packed agenda, with the recommendations of the four-member Working Group constituted to look into the verdict of the Supreme Court appointed R.M. Lodha Committee occupying the prime spot.
There are 14 items on the agenda and the discussion on the Lodha Committee report is listed at number 11 in the list. The Working Group — comprising BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla, BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry and IPL Governing Council member Sourav Ganguly — was constituted after the suspension of the franchise owners of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.
According to reports the Working Group has submitted its recommendation to the BCCI wherein it has placed two options — running the two franchises, which have been banned, under different management for the two years or to invite fresh tenders to form new franchises while keeping the banned franchises away to let them serve the term of their suspension.
The Madras High Court’s decision to not grant interim relief to CSK on its appeal for a stay on the Lodha Committee recommendations now clears the stage for the BCCI Working Committee to take up the matter for discussion and decide the future course of action.
The Working Committee will also likely deliberate on appointing a full-time coach for the Indian team before the home series against South Africa beginning in October.
This is not a specifically listed item in the agenda but can be taken up in the ‘different matters’ head which comes up as the 14th item in the agenda.
The issue has been pending for some time and the BCCI secretary apparently wants the issue to be taken up for a speedy resolution. In such a situation the Working Committee may advise the three-member Cricket Advisory Committee — comprising Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman and Sourav Ganguly — to make a selection of prospective candidates ahead of the upcoming AGM, the date and venue of which will be decided in the very meeting.
There are other items under cricketing affairs where the relocation of the National Cricket Academy, affiliations to new units like Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Manipur, and the recommendations of the junior cricket, technical and women’s committees will also be taken up for discussion.
The Indian women’s team gradation system is another issue likely to be finalised.
Prior to the Working Committee meeting, the BCCI’s Finance Committee will meet in the morning where it will iron out gradation slabs which is likely to divide the players in three slots with annual contracts of Rs. 15 lakh, Rs. 10 lakh and Rs. 5 lakh.
Match fees for the men’s team will also be discussed and ascertained in the meeting.
