HPCA ‘allows’ Thakur to remain president for now

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, January 20

Nearly three weeks after the Supreme Court removed Anurag Thakur as the president of the Indian cricket board (BCCI), he was retained as the president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA), which he has been heading since 2000.

After a crucial meeting today evening, HPCA's executive committee decided to “allow” Thakur to continue as its president. The meeting was convened to discuss the implications of the Supreme Court order to implement the Lodha Commission recommendations, the majority of which were accepted by the Supreme Court on July 18 last year.

After the January 2 verdict, the officials of many state units have stepped down, and it was expected that Thakur would step down too.

Seeking a relaxation

Sanjay Sharma, HPCA's spokesman, said the association has moved an application before the Supreme Court seeking a relaxation in one of the Lodha Committee recommendations. This pertains to the recommendation that an official can hold office for a maximum of nine years, with cooling off periods in between tenures. He said the matter was listed for hearing today, but no judgment was delivered by the court. The next date of hearing is January 24, and any decision over changes in HPCA would be taken after the Supreme Court delivers a judgment on HPCA's plea, he said.

With this, HPCA also deferred a decision on implementing the Lodha Committee recommendations. The Supreme Court's January 2 order had asked the state associations to file affidavits affirming that they would implement the recommendations, failing which action could be taken against them.

Since the recommendations have not been accepted by HPCA, there is uncertainty over the India-Australia Test that is scheduled to be played in Dharamsala on March 21-25. This was to be the first-ever Test match to be played in Himachal Pradesh after the venue was granted Test status by BCCI in late 2015.

However, informed sources say that before conducting this Test match, HPCA would have to implement the Lodha Committee recommendations as per the Supreme Court order. In case the recommendations are implemented, it will lead to massive administrative changes in HPCA. One of the recommendations is that an association's president would not have a tenure longer than three years, while Thakur has been heading HPCA continuously for over 16 years. 

Resisting Reforms

January 4, 2016: The Lodha Committee recommends a complete overhaul of Indian cricket.

July 18, 2016: The Supreme Court accepts a majority of the Lodha Committee recommendations, and asks BCCI to implement them within six months.

October 21, 2016: The Supreme Court tells BCCI to stop disbursing funds to the state associations that do not comply with the Lodha Committee recommendations.

January 2, 2017: The Supreme Court removes BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke because, in its words, they “obstructed the implementation of the final directions of this Court”. The court also served a contempt of court and perjury notice on Thakur.

January 20, 2017: HPCA “allows” Thakur to continue as president.