What’s the story?
In what could be first of the ramifications of the sackings of Anurag Thakur and Ajay Shirke as President and Secretary of the Board of Control For Cricket In India(BCCI), there is uncertainty over the staging of limited-overs series between India and England, set to start from the 15th of January in Pune.
The visitors, led by Eoin Morgan, are set to come down to India in a week’s time, to continue their tour, which was paused due to their Christmas break.
“With all state associations forced to comply with the recommendations, most of the senior state officials stand ineligible to operate. Eventually, a match is hosted by the local association and all of a sudden you don't know who is in charge. The entire board is in a state of confusion,“ a board official told the Times of India.
In case you did not know...
The Supreme Court of India on Monday removed both Thakur and Shirke from their respective positions for not agreeing fully with the recommendations of the Lodha panel. Thakur has ben given time until the 19th of January to respond and the Court have also decided to appoint the most senior Vice President of the board to oversee operations until that time.
The heart of the matter
The BCCI had stated that it was very difficult for them for them to implement all the recommendations put forth by the Lodha committee and if they did so, then they will maybe have to cancel international matches and it could also affect other cricketing affairs.
During the five-match Test series held between India and England last month, the board was allowed to spend after filling a request petition in the apex court since they were barred from releasing funds to the state associations for the proper conduct of the matches.
What’s next?
It now becomes extremely imperative for the interim President to come in and assess the situation and take a firm decision in order to prevent any more trouble. It has been made clear that the incoming person will need to take an undertaking stating that he would comply with all the recommendations of the Lodha panel.
Sportskeeda’s take
While the off-field issues continue to dominate the news, it is vital that the on-field action is not affected. For more than the players, it is the fans who are the most hit because of lack of cricketing action.
Cricket runs in the blood of the Indian fan, who waits in long queues, browses different websites and does several other things to get that one ticket which would help them watch their favourite star in action and depriving them of that is wrong.
