COA issues 7-point instruction to various BCCI office bearers

The Committee of Administrators (COA) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India has issued a seven-point instruction to the three top BCCI office bearers – vice president, CK Khanna, joint secretary Amitabh Chaudhary and treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhry.

Aniruddh and Amitabh were summoned by the COA at the BCCI headquarters to make it clear that they should follow all the instruction given by the administrators. The instructions have to be followed by Chief Executive Officer Rahul Johri and Chief Financial Officer Santosh Rengnekar as well.

The report further states that if the COA wishes to communicate anything to the office bearers, they should do so via the CEO. The COA will have a final say at clearing all legal documents. All payments will be cleared by joint secretary and the CEO. In case there arises any disagreement over a particular payment, then the COA’s decision will be final. Basically, the COA will enjoy a final say in rules that are applicable.

This has come three days after the Supreme Court of India asked the board to release funds to state cricket associations, including the HPCA, which is hosting the final India-Australia Test, for organising the games. A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra also heard the plea of Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Karnataka state cricket associations, which have organised last three Test matches of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and asked the COA to release funds to all three of them in accordance with the terms of the contract.

A few state associations attracted the attention of the bench, which also comprises Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, that an issue of release of funds might come up again in organizing Indian Premier League (IPL) matches, starting from April 5.

The bench said the COA, franchises and state associations will have to comply with the terms of the tripartite agreement for smooth conduct of IPL fixtures.