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With nowhere to go, BCCI buys more time

This was supposed to be the most crucial day for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to make a decision on the implementation of the Justice RM Lodha panel recommendations. However, some of the key state cricket associations deliberately chose to send their second string administrators to the cricket body's special general meeting (SGM). Hence, the convention was adjourned for a day, till October 1, after just five minutes of its commencement.

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Ajay Shirke and Anurag Thakur
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This was supposed to be the most crucial day for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to make a decision on the implementation of the Justice RM Lodha panel recommendations. However, some of the key state cricket associations deliberately chose to send their second string administrators to the cricket body's special general meeting (SGM). Hence, the convention was adjourned for a day, till October 1, after just five minutes of its commencement.

Officially, the SGM was adjourned because representatives of many of the member state associations didn't have proper "letters of authorisation". However, this was deliberately done — despite the fact that it meant missing the first deadline of Lodha panel — to give ample time to president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke to hold close door meetings with state units to make a common strategy for Saturday.

"Technically, not adhering to September 30 deadline is contempt of court," said a Lodha panel source on Friday. The big question now is what prompted BCCI top brass to take such huge drastic step?
According to insiders in BCCI, its secretary Shirke was in the Capital a day before the SGM on Thursday and apparently held several round of meetings with former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley.

Since both Shirke and Thakur reached Mumbai just before the meeting, there was little time to interact with the members and that resulted in the SGM being adjourned. A senior BCCI member told dna that the main reason for SGM's adjournment was because 10 out of 30 member units did not have authorisation letters to attend the SGM.

"Some had no letters and some letters had not categorically mentioned that they will abide by all the decisions taken by the board regarding Justice Lodha recommendations," said the source.
Interestingly, many member states are being represented in the SGM by their fringe officials and not by its president or secretary. This is apparently to avoid any direct confrontation with the Apex court.
"What's the point of going there when we know there is no escape route for us?" said a Board office-bearer on condition of anonymity.

It has been learnt that BCCI's September 27 application in the Supreme Court pleading for the July 18 order to be "suspended" has the signatures of chief administrative officer (CAO) Ratnakar Shetty and not that of Shirke, who is the authorised signatory.
"Why has BCCI secretary not signed the application, which is mandatory?" asked a BCCI official who is in favour of implementing Lodha panel reforms in toto.
"Is it not like the previous review petition, which is still lying in defects with the registry and BCCI has not bothered to make the corrections," added the member.

The BCCI argued in its affidavit that it has the right to seek more time before following the various timelines set by the Lodha panel.
Meanwhile, the SGM of Vidarbha Cricket Association decided to implement all the recommendations suggested by Lodha panel. The meeting was chaired by VCA president Prakash Dixit who has taken up the only agenda of the SGM for discussion.

Don't put India, Pak in same group: BCCI tells ICC

With the bilateral relations deteriorating, BCCI decided that India will avoid playing Pakistan even in multi-nation tournaments and asked the ICC not to place the two teams in the same group in the future. "Keeping in mind that the government has adopted a new strategy to isolate Pakistan and in view of the public sentiment in the country, we request ICC not to put India and Pakistan in the same pool of the multi-nation tournaments," BCCI president Anurag Thakur said on Friday. He added that if the two countries reach a knockout match and have to clash, then it can't be avoided in that case.

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