BCCI 'indefinitely' suspends Rajasthan Cricket Association after Lalit Modi elected president

Lalit Modi’s return as RCA president has rattled BCCI, resulting in the apex cricket body in India announcing RCA’s suspension

Hours after Lalit Modi was elected as its president, the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) was ‘indefinitely’ suspended by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday.

Speaking to CNN-IBN, BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said that RCA has been suspended and BCCI will now appoint a new committee to run cricket in the state. Lalit Modi was announced the winner of RCA polls by Supreme Court observers, causing BCCI much embarrassment since it ousted him after many IPL controversies came to surface, leading to a life ban from the apex cricket body last year. Modi has since been living in a self-imposed exile in London.

“The BCCI president has indefinitely suspended RCA from participating in any BCCI activity. The decision has been taken as per the constitution clause No. 32, sub-clause 7, where the president has the right to suspend an association, which doesn’t conform with the rules and regulations of BCCI. The decision was taken by interim president Shivlal Yadav,” Sanjay Patel told PTI.

There were concerns regarding the future of players from Rajasthan, but Shivlal Yadav tried to allay such fears.

“BCCI is pro-player. Our endeavour will be to look after the cricketers from Rajasthan. We will be forming an ad-hoc body which will run cricket in Rajasthan, taking care of the interest of the players,” he said.

The RCA elections, under the supervision of retired SC judges Justice NM Kasliwal and Justice SP Pathak, were held on December 19 last year. The votes, cast by 33 districts in the state, were sent to SC in a sealed envelope. According to reports, Lalit Modi garnered 24 in comparison to his opponent Rampal Sharma who could manage just 5.

In July 2013, Lalit Modi was banned for life by BCCI after he was found guilty of “financial irregularities, indiscipline and actions detrimental to the interest of BCCI”. However, he returned to contest for the post of RCA president last year under Rajasthan Sports Act 2005.

Amin Pathan, RCA’s Vice President, called this move by BCCI “pure bullying”, saying that RCA will go to court against this move.

By any means, this does not look like the end of the story and there are expected to be further tussle between the two sides in coming days.