New Delhi: The Supreme Court Thursday expressed displeasure over sparring between BCCI Committee of Administrators (CoA) chief Vinod Rai and its member Diana Edulji and said they should not bring their differences in public domain. The apex court, while observing that it was partially aware of what was going on in the CoA, said that whosoever is involved in these issues, they should not bring it in public domain.
“We have heard in newspaper reports that some sparring is going on between CoA members. We want to know is it correct?” asked a bench comprising Justices S A Bobde and A M Sapre. Senior advocate Parag Tripathi, appearing for the CoA, responded, “Not on core issues.” To this, the bench said, “We have thought to tell the amicus curiae to inform them (CoA members) that whosoever is involved, they should not bring it in public domain. It should not come in public domain”.
In 2017, the apex court had appointed a four-member CoA, headed by former Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Vinod Rai, to run the affairs of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and implement the court-approved recommendations of the Justice R M Lodha panel on reforms in the cash-rich cricket body.
The two-member CoA has been divided on several matters including the recent controversy involving cricketers Hardik Pandya and K L Rahul. Pandya and Rahul had attracted widespread criticism for their alleged misogynistic comments on TV Show ‘Koffee with Karan’. Then came the on the controversy relating to exclusion of Indian women cricketer Mithali Raj from the playing 11 in the crucial semi-final match of the recently concluded women’s world cup.
Ombudsman appointed
The Supreme Court appointed its former judge Justice D K Jain as BCCI’s first Ombudsman for the resolution of disputes arising in the apex cricketing body in the course of administration of its affairs. The top court bench of Justice S.A. Bobde and Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre appointed Justice Jain as Ombudsman after all the lawyers representing different parties agreed on his name out of the six suggested by amicus curiae P.S. Narasimha. The court is also likely to appoint the third member of the Committee of Administrators (CoA) headed by former CAG Vinod Rai after consulting Narasimha.
Hardik Pandya ruled out
Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the T20I and ODI series against Australia due to lower back stiffness. While the selectors named no replacement for Pandya in the T20Is, Ravindra Jadeja was added to the ODI squad. This is a big blow to Hardik Pandya months before the World Cup. In September, Pandya was ruled out of the Asia Cup after sustaining an injury in the first match against Pakistan. Thereafter, Pandya missed the Test, ODI and T20I series against West Indies. Pandya was also not named in the T20I squad for Australia but he joined up with the Indian team after the first two Tests.
