Leadership crisis looms

The strict tenure recommendations by the Justice Lodha Committee has not only put paid to the ambitions of many cricket officials but also brought to the fore the likely detrimental effect of their love for chairs without bothering to groom a second line of administrators.

Following the second set of FAQs released by the Lodha panel, several cricket associations are likely to face a leadership crisis during the next three years.

The problem can impact the BCCI too.

Several Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) officials, who were certain that former India captain Sourav Ganguly — who had filled the big shoes of Jagmohan Dalmiya — would lead the Bengal and Indian cricket administration for a long time, have been bamboozled by the Lodha Committee’s explanations.

The issue, in fact, is bigger than that. It is more about the people who would be leading CAB when the present set of officials become ineligible after completing their terms.

Real problem

“The real problem will come when those (who will be elected in the forthcoming polls) go into the cooling-off period after three years. Without experience, the new ones will face difficulty in running the show,” said former CAB treasurer Biswarup Dey, who became ineligible after serving 10 years in different posts.

“For example, you need to conduct several domestic tournaments, including State-level and district-level age-group and other events, from Darjeeling to Midnapore.”

Gautam Dasgupta, who worked in the BCCI and stepped down as a CAB trust board member, said the lack of experience would hurt cricket administration for sure.

“On the whole, there will be a tremendous vacuum. There are many areas where you need experience.”

Dasgupta agreed that the vacuum, at the State-level, could also reflect in the BCCI, especially when dealing with different boards and the ICC, in order to protect India’s interests.

Similar situation

Another influential association, Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), is also facing a similar situation, with at least 17 of its members being ineligible to contest the polls.

“Because of people who stuck to the administration for years, the DDCA is bound to have issues in finding suitable ones in future,” said an official.

The lack of experienced hands is also likely to pose hurdles for associations such as Haryana and Odisha.