Kapil Dev Roped in by BCCI to form Players' Association

The Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) has started their work to executing a key reform from the Lodha committee- forming a Cricket Players’ Association (CPA). Committee of Administrators (CoA) in their meeting on January 12 has decided to form a ‘Working Group’ comprising legend Kapil Dev, former India batsman Anshuman Gaekwad, wicketkeeper Bharath Reddy and ex-India women’s team captain Shanta Rangaswamy. They will work with former home secretary GK Pillay to initiate the process of the formation of CPA.

CoA, in its fourth status report, has asked for directions from the Supreme Court for reconstituting the steering committee, which had been recommended by the Lodha Committee towards the formation of a players’ association in India. Out of the four members of the steering committee, three of them including Mohinder Amarnath had quit the steering committee, stating their inability to be a part of the same.

CoA then suggested the names of Kapil, Gaekwad, and Reddy as the replacements in the steering committee. CoA was informed that it “won’t be advisable for it to reconstitute the steering committee since the issue was pending before the SC, it could start the preparatory work for the formation of the same.”

Rangaswamy was drafted in the working group so that “there’s at least one woman cricketer who can help in identifying the women cricketers for the CPA.”

CoA also recommended Rangaswamy’s name to the Supreme Court to be a part of the steering committee.

“We’ve had two meetings already. Right now, we’re collecting information from the BCCI about all the former cricketers in India in the male, female and physically challenged category. We’re working as per the guidelines of the SC and waiting for the court’s approval,” a member of the working group said.

Apparently, a male cricketer needs to have played at least 10 first-class games to be a part of the national players’ panel, while an ex-female cricketer needs to have played five first-class games/or an international game to join the association.

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