Committee of Administrators takes full control of BCCI

The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) has assumed complete control of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The panel will run the day-to-day affairs of the board through BCCI CEO Rahul Johri until fresh elections are conducted.

The new constitution of the BCCI, issued through an elaborate directive, sees the CoA take full control of the board. Aside from the selection panels in charge of picking teams for the various national teams and the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), the CoA will oversee every aspect of administration.

Currently, the CoA comprises Chairman Vinod Rai and former Indian women's team captain Diana Edulji. The panel communicated the directive to all office-bearers through an extensive email. The new constitution had come into effect from August 21.

The wings of the three most important office bearers of the BCCI - CK Khanna (acting president), Amitabh Choudhary (acting secretary) and Anirudh Chaudhry (treasurer) - have been clipped as a consequence. Every one of their decisions will now need the approval of the CoA.

The decisive directive stated, "Except for the Cricket Advisory Committee and the duly reconstituted Selection Committees, all committees/sub-committees under the Old Constitution stand dissolved with immediate effect. In the event any urgent decision that cannot await the appointment of new committees/sub-committees in terms of the New Constitution is required to be taken, the same may either be taken by the Committee of Administrators or the Committee of Administrators may constitute an ad-hoc committee comprising of persons who meet the relevant criteria stipulated in the New Constitution to assist the Committee of Administrators in taking such urgent decision."

The change in the constitution now means that the BCCI administration will revolve around a nine-member apex panel. The revamped council contains the five office-bearers, a male and a female representative from a BCCI-constituted Players Association, an elected representative of the board and a member of the CAG office.

All office bearers cannot undertake any official trips on BCCI's expense without the prior approval of the CoA. All payments on behalf of the board will need to be approved by the CoA before being sent to the purview of the CEO. An ad-hoc committee will be formed whenever the situation of taking an urgent decision arises.

Despite the fresh development, the CAC's role will continue unabated. The three-member panel comprises Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. The five-member national selection committee's powers are also untouched.