BCCI constitutes two-member panel to probe payment made to overseas agency

BCCI President Shashank Manohar is leaving no stone unturned in his efforts to clean up the BCCI

Stepping up its efforts to ensure a cleaner image under the leadership of new president Shashank Manohar, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has constituted a two-member panel to probe a payment to the tune of $900,000 made to an overseas investigating agency in 2014 when Shivlal Yadav was the interim board president, ESPNCricinfo reports.

Manohar has been emphasising the need for the BCCI to be more transparent in its functioning ever since he took over as the new chief following the vacancy created by the sudden demise of former president Jagmohan Dalmiya. He reiterated the same in his annual report as well placing special focus on the need for eradicating corruption and proper utilisation of funds.

"My second term as the President is more challenging as the Board is passing through turbulent times. It is necessary for all the members to support certain decisions which are required to be taken to protect the interest of the Board in maintaining its autonomy," Manohar wrote in his annual report. "The BCCI needs to improve its efficiency and transparency in governance and a great deal of accountability is required from the members as to how the BCCI funds are used."

"I seek your support to bring about certain amendments in the rules and regulations, frame rules of conflict of interest, frame rules for accreditation for Player Managers. I have to request you to make best endeavours to work towards eradicating corruption from the game of cricket at the state level and assist the BCCI in its efforts to restore the faith of the cricket loving public in cricket."

Hot on the heels of those statements emerged reports that the BCCI has handed the responsibility of investigating the matter related to the agency, which has not been named yet, but understood to be based in East Asia, to Ajay Shirke and G Ganga Raju.

The issue was raised by Niranjan Shah, the president of the Saurashtra Cricket Association, during the AGM and was backed by several senior members and the BCCI has obliged to the demands.

Speaking after the announcement was made, both Shirke and Gangaraju said that they will be investigating the matter in detail and reports back to the BCCI with their findings.

"There is a payment that has been made to an agency. We have to find out what is this payment, where it has been made, to whom it has been made, for what purpose it has been made, who sanctioned it, who approved it," Shirke told ESPNcricinfo.

"The person who has issued the cheque has to say why he has issued the cheque. Whether he has given it for a valid purpose or not will be looked into. Was the permission of the secretary (Patel) and president (Yadav) taken or not? In what way was the IT company connected with the BCCI? If the money has gone from BCCI then we need to know what purpose it was given for and for what tasks fulfilled. We are going to go deep into it and report it back to the BCCI," Gangaraju said.