#6 Team Selection
For the Senior Selection Committee, the Lodha panel recommended the scrapping of the 5 member zonal system which consisted of members from each zone – North, South, East, West and Central – in favour of a 3 member panel that would comprise of qualified former Test cricketers, retired for a minimum of 5 years.
This recommendation was met with criticism from many former cricketers. Since selectors are expected to travel the length and breadth of the country to watch matches, review performances and scout for new talent, they felt that a panel of 3 will not be sufficient to cater to a vast country and huge cricket playing population like India.
Recently, the BCCI scrapped the zonal system but went ahead to ignore directions from the Lodha Committee and picked a Senior Selection panel of 5 selectors with limited international experience, a couple of them even having no Test experience.
#7 Creation of Player’s Association
The Committee recognised the need for an Association for Players and strict procedures to monitor Player Agents. A Player’s Association is a necessary platform for the players to voice their concerns and for ex-cricketers to give back to the game, utilising their wealth of experience.
Interestingly, India is the only Test-playing nation not to have a players' association of its own or an affiliation with the Federation of International Cricketers (FICA). Though several attempts have been made by players in the past to organise themselves, none of them, including the existing Indian Professional Cricketers’ Association (IPCA) floated in 2002, were officially recognised by the BCCI.
A four-member Steering Committee, comprising former union home secretary GK Pillai (chairperson), Mohinder Amarnath, Anil Kumble and former India women captain Diana Edulji has been proposed to establish the new Association. The BCCI is expected to approve this recommendation and meet all costs of running the Association.
#8 Scheduling Issues
One of the key recommendations with a direct influence on the game is related to the scheduling of the Indian Premier League. The Committee has asked the BCCI to ensure a mandatory 15-day gap between the international calendar and the IPL, before and after the tournament.
- In the previous season, the IPL started less than a week after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup. The end of the season T20 league is a long, jam-packed tournament in itself and considering most Indian regulars are important players for their respective sides, the toll it can have on their fitness is substantial.
- In grave concerns over player fatigue and injury, the Committee has asked the BCCI to prioritise fitness and availability of the cricketers for national duty.
Again, the BCCI cites a potentially huge loss of revenue to backtrack from this suggestion. Also, this recommendation is not feasible for this season as the Champions Trophy is scheduled close to the IPL.
#9 Conflict of Interest
According to the Committee’s recommendations, a person should hold only one post in the administration in order to avoid any ‘conflict of interest’. In simplest terms, ‘conflict of interest’ refers to a situation wherein one or more activities of an individual can conflict between personal interest and larger interest of the game.
For example, if the coach or selector of the Indian team are owners or a part of the management of an IPL franchise, then they could be suspected to favour the players of their own franchise.
Irrespective of actual wrongdoing, it makes the integrity of the individual as well as that of the game vulnerable to the doubts of compromise. For clarity of understanding, the Lodha Committee had listed several such cases of ‘conflict of interest’ in its report. It also asked for the appointment of an Ethics Officer.
Following Shashank Manohar’s return as the President, the BCCI decided to appoint an ombudsman to deal with such “complaints of conflict of interest and any act of indiscipline or misconduct or violation of any of the Rules and Regulations of the Board by an administrator”
Justice Ajit Prakash Shah was appointed as BCCI’s first ever Ombudsman.
#10 Focus on Women’s Cricket, North East States, Union Territories and Differently Abled
One standout point in the report is its focus on cricket for women, differently abled, the North East states and Union Territories.
The Committee observed that it has never seen a woman in prominent positions of the Indian cricket administration.
It also pointed out that, lesser cricket played by the Indian women’s team (the women’s team last played a Test Match 8 years ago), in comparison to other countries, was enough evidence of women having no voice in the governance of the sport and the scant attention given by the BCCI to the women’s game.
Women cricketers receive meagre earnings and had no central contracts.
While a Women’s Cricket Committee in addition to a Women’s Selection Committee, and a similar Committee exclusively for differently abled cricketers has been proposed, the Committee has left it to the BCCI to decide for or against fielding combined North East and Union Territory teams in cricket tournaments.
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