Anurag Thakur sacked: Will everything fall in place for BCCI now?
Anurag Thakur will no longer continue to be BCCI president. Anurag Thakur will no longer continue to be BCCI president.
As the Supreme Court asked Anurag Thakur and Ajay Shirke to step down from their posts of BCCI president and secretary, a new era in Indian cricket is set to begin. Never before the Indian cricket has seen a transformation of this sort. Both Thakur and Shirke are facing the consequences of not following the July 18 court order, and today’s ruling came after the Lodha panel’s third status report was submitted to the court on November 18.
But can the SC ruling correct all that is wrong with the Indian cricket board? Though the SC has removed Thakur and Shirke from their posts, the implementation of Lodha panel reforms is yet to be implemented. Both the country’s cricket board and the state associations have to implement all the recommendations suggested by the Lodha panel.
The new order also ruled that BCCI will have new office-bearers for which the court has sought names and the ruling will take place on January 19. Till then, the senior most vice-president of the board will assume the role of president.
But confusion will prevail even after this. The senior vice presidents of the cricket board are either above the age of 70 years or have completed at least one term of over six years in the board – both the conditions making them ineligible to hold any post.
The three-match ODI series between India and England will begin from January 15 and that will once again raise the issue of payments. The board has to decide whether they can continue with the series or not. Not only that, the new office-bearers have to approach the Supreme Court so that it can release payments for the series and the players. We all remember the controversy when the England cricket team was not paid for bills by BCCI during the Test series.
Once again, the board is bracing for an ugly scene with no money for payments of the visiting teams and to conduct the series.
It will be far-fetched to believe that the sacking of Thakur and Shirke will clean up the system. The clean-up should run down in every state association. And an overhaul of each of these associations will be the real test of the Lodha panel.
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