BCCI And CAG Nominee At Loggerheads Over Jay Shah's Eligibility As Apex Council Meet Today

BCCI secretary Jay Shah could be the main talking point when the cricket board’s apex council meet over video conference call on Friday. Alka Rehani Bharadwaj, the nominee of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in the council, and the BCCI are at loggerheads over the Jay Shah’s eligibility to attend the meeting.

Bharadwaj has already expressed her objection to Jay Shah’s presence in the meeting as the latter’s tenure with the BCCI has come to an end as per Lodha Committee recommendations. Bharadwaj has argued that the BCCI secretary should go into a mandatory cooling-off after completing his term but has not received support from the BCCI officials.

As per the Lodha reforms, a three-year cooling-off is mandatory after the completion of six years in office – state association and the BCCI combined. Jay Shah was an office-bearer at the Gujarat Cricket Association before coming to the cricket board in October last year.

But according to a report in the Indian Express, a BCCI official has said, since the matter was sub judice – the board has filed applications before the apex court, with a request to endorse the amendments in its constitution including tenure cap and cooling-off – status quo should be maintained.

The report further stated that The CAG, too, has filed an application before the apex court, seeking its nominee’s recusal from the BCCI’s management position. Legal experts, who are dealing with the application, said that Bharadwaj can attend tomorrow’s meeting and record her disapproval if she wants to.

Earlier this month, Bharadwaj wrote a letter after the BCCI secretary had circulated the agenda of the meeting. In her reply to the agenda notice, Bharadwaj had said:

“The President/Joint Secretary BCCI (who would be presumably officiating as Secretary after vacation of Secretary BCCI post) need to also ensure that 4th Apex Council meeting is attended by only members, eligible as per the Constitution. Any decision on this matter may please be backed by facts and endorsed legally. This is being reiterated only to ensure compliance with Honourable Supreme Court approved Constitution.”

Incidentally, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly’s tenure is also going to end this month. Like Jay Shah, Ganguly had also served in state association as its president before taking charge of the BCCI. At a time when the entire focus should have been on IPL and how to resume cricket again in these testing times, the board could face another turmoil internally thanks to the Lodha Committee’s recommendations.