BCCI AGM to discuss image makeover, N Srinivasan’s future

Stricter adherence to conflict of interest clause could lead to the removal of selector...

Mumbai

: Sweeping reforms to revive its battered image, including the appointment of an ombudsman, and former chief N Srinivasan's future as ICC President will dominate the agenda when the BCCI holds its 85th Annual General Meeting here on Monday.

Appointment of the ombudsman, or Ethics Officer, is one of the key changes that have been proposed in the BCCI's Memorandum of Rules and Regulations to be taken up at the AGM.

With the soon-to-be-delivered recommendations over governance reforms by the Supreme Court-appointed Justice Lodha Committee hanging over them, the Board members are all set to clear the way for this path-breaking move which was announced by Shashank Manohar after being re-elected as the BCCI president last month.

The ombudsman will be appointed "to deal with the 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," as per the wordings of the clause that has been proposed to be taken up at the AGM.

The AGM, which was postponed by more than a month from its normal late September date, is expected to put in place strict compliance protocols to the conflict of interest regulations in the wake of the Supreme Court's cracking of the whip on this matter.

But Manohar will need all his negotiating skills as a practising lawyer to get it passed without diluting the reach and scope of the conflict of interest clause.

It will be interesting to see whether the BCCI general body will decide to retain its former president and Tamil Nadu strongman N Srinivasan as its representative on the International Cricket Council as the chairman.

There have been news reports recently that BCCI would change its nomination vis-a-vis ICC and name Manohar as the new chairman till the next Annual Conference of the world governing body in June when the Indian board-nominated person's term comes to an end.

Srinivasan is not scheduled to attend the AGM and Tamil Nadu CA is to be represented by VP PS Raman. If the BCCI decides to change his name in favour of Manohar to be forwarded to the ICC, it will mark a complete end to Srinivasan's hold in the Board.

Another important change in the proposed clauses is about the BCCI president approving every team picked by the national selection panel. The existing clause says that the president "shall approve the composition of the team selected by the Selection Committee", while the proposed clause reads, "The President, along with the Office Bearers, shall approve the composition of a team selected by the National Selection Committee from time to time."

The AGM is also set to elect new senior, junior and women's selection panels and the proposed stricter adherence to conflict of interest clause could lead to the removal of South Zone representative in the Sandeep Patil-led seniors panel - Roger Binny – as his son Stuart is an active player.

The general body is also set to constitute a new IPL Governing Council, an important sub committee, and provide a roadmap for the induction of two new teams in place of the suspended Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for seasons 9 and 10 of the T20 League.

But with another proposal to limit the number of persons in each sub committee to eight, the size of the IPL Governing Council, which is currently headed by Rajeev Shukla, is also expected to be cut down drastically.

If the proposal is cleared, the IPL GC would in future consist of five members of the Board, of which one will be the Chairman, three individuals of repute with expertise in finance/administration plus the BCCI's office bearers as ex-officio members.

All decisions of IPL would have to be taken by a majority and in case of equality, the chairman can exercise his casting vote.

The GC would have a separate bank account for IPL to be maintained by the BCCI's Treasurer, while also periodically submit a report, along with all decisions taken, to the succeeding meeting of the Board's Working Committee for its approval.

As per another proposal, the chairman of a meeting, including AGM, will not have a vote as is the case at present. He will have only a casting vote, to be exercised if needed.

Yet another proposal is that "for being eligible to contest for Vice-President from a zone, the candidate should have represented a full member in at least two Annual General Meetings of the Board as the representative of such member." Currently, VPs can represent a zone to which the person does not belong.

Another proposed change is the auditing of the accounts of all its full members, associate and affiliate members by the BCCI's independent auditor and all payments due to them would be released by the BCCI only after the receipt of the audit report by the independent auditor.

Also a 30-day deadline has been proposed to be set for all its members for submission of the statement of accounts, after the conclusion of their participation in various tournaments, to the BCCI.

Another proposed clause is that the National Cricket Academy Board shall consist of a chairman, one member of each zone and two retired cricketers with the BCCI secretary as its convener.

The committee would draw up a programme for coaching at NCA and zonal academies, appoint coaches and support staff, approve NCA's budget and its activities and co-ordinate the activities of zonal academies.

Another proposed change says that amendments to BCCI's Rules and Regulations could be done only at a Special General Meeting and not at an AGM. As per the existing clause, the amendments can be taken up at SGM or AGM.

The AGM is also set to pass the accounts and secretary's annual report, decide on the amount of annual subvention to the different affiliated associations as well as central contracts for senior cricketers.

With the BCCI coffers enriched by the extra income it has received after the disbandment of the Champions T20 League, each association is expected to get Rs 30 crore as subvention money from the parent body, it was learnt.

The procedure to appoint a new coach for the Indian team, with the post lying vacant after the departure of Zimbabwean Duncan Fletcher, could also be taken up at the meeting.