Aditya Verma, the petitioner in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing case, has decided to file a plea to the Supreme Court, to give relief to the present BCCI President Sourav Ganguly from the mandatory three-year cooling-off period.
Former Indian captain Ganguly became the BCCI supremo in October 2019.
However, before this role, Ganguly already experienced five consecutive years of administration in the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). So, this July, Ganguly will complete his six years of administration in Indian cricket.
According to the new BCCI constitution based on justice RM Lodha committee’s reforms, after handling the administration in Indian cricket (an office-bearer in the state as well as BCCI) for consecutive six years, the member has to face the mandatory three-year cooling-off period.
After finishing this three-year cooling-off period, Ganguly can return to the administration in Indian cricket for three more years.
However, Verma has decided to request the SC to exempt Ganguly from the mandatory cooling-off period which can help him to continue the BCCI President role for three more years.
Verma told PTI on this Monday, “Being the original petitioner on whose PIL the whole constitutional revamp happened, I have decided to file a plea that the apex court should let Sourav Ganguly and his team (secretary Jay Shah in this case) continue for a term of three years.”
Like Ganguly, the BCCI secretary Jay Shah also has the same issue. Before joining in Ganguly’s BCCI team as the secretary, Shah also had the experiences for more than five years in the administration of Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA).
If a person of Sourav Ganguly’s stature can’t complete his term, then what’s the use: Aditya Verma
Talking about his latest petition, Verma has clarified his motive.
He claimed, “My entire intention was to ensure BCCI has a transparent functioning. If a person of Sourav’s stature can’t complete his term, then what’s the use?”
Verma has also pointed out that Ganguly and his team deserve to get more time to make the system useful in the BCCI. He has also claimed that the latest coronavirus issue is taking away at least their two months which is not fair to them.
Verma added, “The BCCI had been completely mismanaged by the Committee of Administrators (CoA) for nearly three years. Any person coming in charge needs time to put a system in place. Ganguly and his team must be given that time.
“If you look at the current scenario. There is a complete lockdown in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Supposedly we lose two months of activity, it is unfair on both Ganguly and Shah that they are not given a fair chance to set the house in order. That will be my plea.”
In the wake of COVID-19 or coronavirus outbreak, the sports events have not only been postponed by the BCCI but also the office has been closed.