BCCI face payment conundrum for the sacked selectors

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is facing some serious conundrum over the payment issue for the former Indian selectors. The board had announced a five man selection panel for the national side last year in September. However, with the Lodha reforms coming in place, the selectors were expected to fulfill an eligibility criteria.

While three of the five selectors, including chief selector MSK Prasad, fulfilled the criteria, the other two did not. The criteria was that they should have played Test cricket for the Indian team. This reform saw the BCCI sack Gagan Khoda and Jatin Paranjpe. Both gentlemen had to quit their position as the national selector in January this year.

Now, the board is confused whether should be making the payments for Khoda and Paranjpe till the month of September. Usually, the cycle of the tenure of the selectors is an annual one. The selectors begin their tenure on September 1 and end on August 31 in the year that follows next. Usually, the payment issues do not get in the way for the board but this time around, it seems a little more complicated.

Contracts terminated or renewed only at the AGM

The contracts of selectors are either terminated or renewed only at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the BCCI. This year, there are no scenes of the meeting being held yet. This, in essence, has guaranteed the current selectors their positions until the AGM takes place. Meanwhile, the conundrum for the board remains as whether they should continue to pay Gagan Khoda and Jatin Paranjpe in the extended time frame or not.

This is not the first time that the board has had this confusion due to the postponed dates of the AGM. Earlier in 2014, the AGM was expected to be held in September but eventually took place in March 2015. However, there were no monetary losses to the board back then since the contracts of the selectors were anyway renewed.