Over the months, the cricket administrators have, time and again, got into confrontation with the Committee of Administrators (CoA). But on Thursday, as the Supreme Court approved a Draft Constitution diluting key recommendations of the apex court-appointed Justice R.M. Lodha committee, CoA chief Vinod Rai termed it as a ‘very positive verdict’.
Speaking to Sportstar from Ahmedabad, Rai admitted that the ‘good thing’ about the order is the fact that a fixed timeline has been specified. “It is a very positive verdict. I am very satisfied with it. It has got good things because it has maintained the main aspects of the (Lodha) recommendation. The good thing is that it has fixed a timeline in which it has to be implemented. It is a very satisfying verdict,” he said.
However as the apex court did away with the ‘cooling off period’ for administrators for every three-year term, Rai made it clear that it would not be an issue.
“That (the cooling off period dilution) is okay. Sometime ago, even I had said that I am okay with two terms before the cooling-off,” he said, adding, “As long as the nine-year rule remains, there should not be any problem. The basics are maintained properly.”
The former Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) also pointed out that one of the most important aspects of the new order is the fact that now the State associations will have to fall in line. “That’s the most important thing. That the State associations will have to mirror the BCCI (constitution) is definitely a good thing,” Rai, who has been the chief of CAG, since January last year, said.
