“BCCI have lost their mind,” said former cricketer Kirti Azad, after the cricket board claimed it may have to cancel the India-New Zealand series due to the Lodha panel order to banks to freeze their accounts.
Kirti Azad along with Digvijay Singh, sports lawyer Rahul Mehra and senior advocate KTS Tulsi reacted to the ongoing tussle between the BCCI and the Lodha panel committee.
BCCI Will Lose ICC Membership if NZ Series is Cancelled: Kirti Azad
Azad said that bookings for the New Zealand series would have been made “months in advance”, and thus cancelling due to lack of funds would make no sense. BJP leader Digvijay Singh however backed the BCCI, saying that too much interference from the Lodha panel would “kill cricket”.
BCCI, who said they were “pained at the treatment meted out to them”, would lose their membership with the ICC if they decided to cancel the series, said Azad. He accused the BCCI of “distributing crores of money amongst themselves”, with the aim of finishing it “before they leave”.
BCCI has around Rs 1,000 crore, while they should have thousands of crores more. They aim to finish all this money before they leave. During the AGM, they have distributed some Rs 70, 80 crore amongst themselves.
Aza told CNN-News18 that “Supreme Court has taken a strong stand and BCCI is in trouble". He also said that “as per Lodha Panel, finances can be disbursed for match purpose as it comes under routine matter”.
Digvijay Singh Tells Justice Lodha: Relax Your Lordship
Congress leader Digvijay Singh took a different stand to Kirti Azad. Singh who went on a Twitter rant on Tuesday, said that though the BCCI’s “functioning needed to be looked into”, “witch-hunting” by Justice Lodha “would kill cricket” and “bring disrepute to the country”.
The Rajya Sabha MP further asked why the Lodha panel were questioning the disbursement of funds by the BCCI to the State Boards. Telling the Lodha panel to “relax your lordship”, Singh joked that the “BCCI should be liberal in giving adequate number of free passes to all who matter”.
BCCI Only Care About the Money: Sports Lawyer Rahul Mehra
Backing and welcoming the “firm stand taken by the Lodha Committee” to freeze the BCCI's accounts, Sports Lawyer Rahul Mehra said the members in the cricketing body were “not accountable to anyone” and “only understand the language of money”.
BCCI officials are not there for the love of the game, they are there for the love of the money in the game.
Backing the recommendations made by the Supreme Court-appointed panel under Justice RM Lodha, Mehra said that if implemented, it would have a positive “long-term impact”.
Tough Action Needs to be Taken Against BCCI, Says KTS Tulsi
Senior Supreme Court advocate KTS Tulsi on Tuesday said that the ongoing tussle between the cricket board and the Lodha panel would only be resolved if the “toughest action” was taken against the BCCI.
“Too much self-interest is involved, which is why all the warnings of the Supreme Court have gone unheeded,” said the senior advocate
The BCCI on Tuesday said it may be forced to cancel India’s ongoing home series against New Zealand, claiming that the Lodha Committee had forced their banks to block all transactions. This, the BCCI claimed hindered their payment to state associations for the organisation of the upcoming fixtures.
The Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Committee had earlier this week emailed the board's two banks —Yes Bank and Bank of Maharashtra — to block all BCCI transactions for financial decisions made at its special general meeting on 30 September.
(With inputs from CNN-News18 and ANI.)
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