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Divan replaces Nariman but confusion persists in Indian cricket board

The SC also on Tuesday also clarified that "a person shall be disqualified from being an office-bearer of BCCI if he or she has been in the board or any of the state association for a cumulative period of nine years".

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Eminent jurist Fali S Nariman on Tuesday recused himself from the task of assisting the Supreme Court in suggesting names of administrators for the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Senior Counsel Anil B Divan is now entrusted with the responsibility.

Nariman cited conflict of interest as the reason for his decision as he was once a retainer with the cricket board. The SC had requested him to assist them on Monday after sacking BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke for resisting implementation of reforms recommended by Justice RM Lodha Commission

Following Nariman's recusal, a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur replaced him with Divan. He will now appoint a team of administrators in consultation with amicus curiae Gopal Subramanian.

The SC on Monday passed interim orders that till a panel of administrators are in place, the senior most vice-president will operate as interim president and joint secretary as interim secretary provided he meets the criteria set by the Lodha panel.

With none of the five BCCI vice-presidents and joint secretary meet the eligibility criteria set by Justice Lodha panel, the only option left is that chief executive officer (CEO) Rahul Johri shoulders the responsibility till January 19 when panel of administrators takes over.

The SC also on Tuesday also clarified that "a person shall be disqualified from being an office-bearer of BCCI if he or she has been in the board or any of the state association for a cumulative period of nine years".

The bench gave the clarification order after Subramaniam pointed out the inadvertent error in Monday's order which said that a person shall be disqualified if he or she has been an office bearer of the BCCI "only" for a cumulative period of nine years.

"Amicus also draws our attention to an inadvertent error in our order, clause 25(i)(f) whereof shall now stand modified/corrected to read as under: 25(i)(f) has been an office-bearer of BCCI or a state association for a cumulative period of nine years," the bench said.

Going by orders, Delhi's controversial official CK Khanna, who now represents Central Zone, Andhra's GK Ganga Raju, J&K veteran ML Nehru, Kerala's TC Mathew and Assam's Gautam Roy are also ruled out for the similar reasons. Roy's name also comes under suspicion in the Delloitte's internal report about Assam.

The case of Jharkhand's controversial Amitabh Choudhury is no different as he has been president in his home state since 2002.

IPL contracts

The most emergent issue that would confront the new BCCI panel of administrators would be that of Indian Premier League contracts.

Going by the previous years, the 2017 IPL should take place between April and May, which is hardly 15 weeks away. But no contracts have yet been finalised because of BCCI's running tussle with Lodha panel. Now that the SC has sacked Thakur and Shirke, there is an immediate need to address this issue.

The BCCI has become the richest cricket body in the world only because of the huge money that it got from IPL TV rights.

Going by the experience of SC bench when former India opener Sunil Gavaskar decided to shift the entire IPL show to Gulf region in 2014 (betting and match-fixing hub), there is no way that similar chance of appointing a big name to run show could be taken this time around.

"Gavaskar shifted the entire IPL to the Gulf region, which was a complete no-no for Indian cricket ever since betting and match-fixing erupted in Sharjah during 90s. There may be less time left but no decision should be taken in hurry," said a former player, who is fighting for reforms.

Former India all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath's name is also doing the rounds as the one who might be entrusted with the job. He was the only one who stood up against the diktats of BCCI former president N Srinivasan before losing his selectors' job.

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