Kolkata: Since the time the Lodha Committee took charge of the Board of Control for Cricket In India (BCCI), some of the most influential officials have had to quit the board. On Saturday, BCCI General Manager (Commercial Department), RP Shah put in his papers on Saturday because of age. Shah’s resignation raises a pertinent question: Should age determine the duration of the stint of a BCCI official?
“See, I am 61 (years of age) and stay in Pune. And due to health reasons, doctors have been advising me to avoid hectic schedules. (From Pune to Mumbai) you know you have to travel a lot. Therefore, I discussed this with my family” said Shah. He also came forward in his own defence by claiming that his resignation was long planned. “I had resigned long back actually. Sometime in October-November last year, I had closed my papers. The (BCCI) CEO requested me to continue, so I continued. Now everybody has settled down. So I requested him (CEO) again and he agreed. I’m leaving on amicable terms” he said.
Incidentally, in 2016, another GM of the BCCI in charge of Communications and Co-ordination, Amrit Mathur resigned after reaching 60. On being asked about this, Mathur said, “I don’t know about others, but my employment conditions stated that retirement age is 60. Accordingly, I resigned in December.” But Shah somehow managed to clear this doubt by saying, “There’s a difference between Amrit and me. Amrit’s appointment (papers) specifically stated that he would retire after 60. Nothing was mentioned in my case.”
It may be the age limit, but Shah did trap himself into a controversy. Last year the then BCCI ombudsman Retired Justice AP Shah had received complaints of ‘conflict of interest’ against him. Shah was said to have an association with a construction company named BG Shirke Constructions, the owner of which is former BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke. The company shared a professional relationship with the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). On being asked about this, Shah said, “I had given my explanation. At that time also the management hadn’t asked me, nor has it today. It was totally my decision and it had nothing to do with the conflict. Actually there was no conflict involved in that, but that was my view.”
After Shah’s retirement, the BCCI is left with two General Managers, Ratnakar Shetty (Administration) and MV Sridhar (Cricket Operations). However, Shetty’s reign might be over shortly as the original Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing petitioner Aditya Verma has already questioned Shetty’s continuance despite serving the MCA for nine long years.
(With inputs from The Sunday Express and PTI)