Kolkata: In one of the biggest developments in Indian domestic cricket, the Supreme Court appointed-COA (Committee of Administrators) designed a new constitution for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) basing on the reforms made by the Justice RM Lodha Committee. And Aditya Verma, the secretary of the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) is one happy man, at the moment, particularly for the fact that he only started this battle that finally saw some light at the end of the tunnel.
Verma, who is leaving no stone unturned in his journey towards the reinstatement of Bihar as a full member of the BCCI was in high spirits because the state had got back it’s voting right, which it could exercise only when some pending cases concerning it were solved. While speaking to SportsCrunch, he expressed his joy.
“I am extremely happy at the fact that Bihar, who played the Ranji Trophy finals in the 1975-76 season, and was also a founder member of the BCCI has got back it’s voting right. After Bihar was removed as a full member of the BCCI without any reason, I had put forward this issue in front of Justice Lodha, Justice Mukul Mudgal and the Supreme Court and I’m glad that they understood the seriousness of the matter” Verma told SportsCrunch from Delhi.
He further revealed, “The Chief Justice, during a hearing had even questioned the BCCI, as to why India’s third most populous state was denied a full membership.”
Opening up on the pending cases in Bihar cricket, he said, ” There is still a body claiming the authority of cricket in Bihar called the Bihar Cricket Association which later changed into the JSCA (Jharkhand State Cricket Association) according to the webpage of the latter. This means that the Bihar Cricket Association has no legal existence today.”
But he had faith that justice would be served soon, “As per the Supreme Court orders and the Lodha Committee reforms, there would be an ombudsman involving the BCCI which would decide which body has the right to govern cricket in Bihar.”
He was also happy at the fact that not only Bihar, but the north-eastern states and many other states would now have a voting right.
He said, “An important thing that has happened in this fight of Bihar cricket is that many places in India would now get to play cricket, who were earlier overlooked by the BCCI for over 87 years.”
Commenting on this move by the CoA he said, “This was originally a reform by the Lodha Committee which the BCCI did not implement. However with the changing of the setup of the BCCI and the coming of Vinod Rai, this move is now implemented.”
“Whatever the Vinod Rai panel is doing, it is for the betterment of cricket in India and for increasing the transparency and accountability of the BCCI and state cricket associations. Hats off to the CoA, the Lodha Committee and the Supreme Court. The Cricket Association of Bihar was and will continue to remain a part of this fight” said Verma, lauding this move.
Now that Bihar would be able to vote, provided the pending cases are solved, Verma had even higher goals in mind.
“Now my aim would be to prepare atleast 12 players in the next five years from Bihar who would go on to play for the country. The entire cricketing world now knows the people of Bihar don’t give up which is very evident from my fight” Verma signed off saying.
The new constitution of the BCCI as decided by the COA has denied the 41 times Ranji Champions Mumbai its permanent voting status while giving the north eastern states along with Uttarakhand, Telengana and Bihar the same power along with a full membership. The MOA( Memorandum of Association) uploaded by the COA also states that there would be only one member from each state who would take turns to ‘rotate annually’ to vote.
Lodha Committee, ever since it’s inception has made efforts to redefine the BCCI by improving it’s functioning and this step, undoubtedly is one big way of spreading cricket to all parts of the country.