75 year old Sharad Pawar to oppose age restriction in the Lodha committee report

The Justice Lodha committee which submitted its report on recommendations for BCCI reform on January 4 had shaken the cricketing structure of the country. Dazed by the recommended reforms the BCCI had called a Special General Meeting (SGM) to discuss the implications of the report.

Amidst all the controversies splurging from the Lodha committee report, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), headed by Sharad Pawar is now in the news as they are all set to oppose the reforms.

"We are opposed to most of the recommendations and are one hundred per cent behind Mr Pawar," said PV Shetty, MCA’s joint secretary when asked about the managing committee meeting scheduled to be held on January 13.

"We will discuss everything and then put forth our views to the BCCI," Shetty added.

The reforms proposed by the Lodha committee suggested, among other points, that no politician should be involved in the cricket set-up, no office bearer should be above the age of 70 years and every state can have only one member in the board, with the right to cast a single vote.

The committee headed by Justice Lodha had pointed out that not all states are represented in the BCCI while some, including Maharashtra, are over represented.

"Mainly attributable to their historic legacy, both Maharashtra and Gujarat have three Full Members, each representing parts of their respective states. Maharashtra therefore exercises votes through the associations of Mumbai, Vidarbha and Maharashtra while Gujarat fields the associations of Baroda, Gujarat and Saurashtra," the panel has noted in its report.

The MCA is set to oppose the propositions that ‘no politician should be involved in the cricket set-up and no office bearer should be above the age of 70 years’. NCP leader Sharad Pawar, aged 75 years leads the charge of the Mumbai Cricket governing body.

The MCA has also decided to felicitate 15 year old Pranav Dhanwade, who just created records after a knock of 1009 unbeaten runs in a school tournament, after its meeting. The board has already announced a scholarship worth Rs. 10,000 per month for a period of 5 years for the young cricketer.