BCCI requests Bombay HC to appoint CoA to run Mumbai Cricket Association

Earlier in January this year, the BCCI had decided to accept most of the Lodha reforms. Hence, the state associations also needed to follow the same. However, Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) have not implemented the reforms until now. They even postponed their board elections that were supposed to be held 18 months ago.

The last MCA election was held back in 2015 when former Union Minister and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar was elected as the MCA president. One of the recommendations of Lodha Panel was that persons above 70 years of age cannot be office bearers, owing to which Pawar had to resign and city BJP chief Ashish Shelar replaced him.

The current managing committee of the MCA has overstayed his tenure and hence a writ petition was filed by Muslim Sports Club. Thus, keeping the two factors in mind, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) CEO Rahul Johri on March 29 (Thursday) submitted an affidavit to the Bombay HC seeking a replacement of the managing committee by a Committee of Administrators (CoA), which will implement the Lodha reforms and conduct elections as per the amended constitution. 

“I say and submit that the honourable high courts of Delhi, Hyderabad and Jammu & Kashmir have already intervened by appointing administrators to ensure that the respective state associations under their jurisdiction implement the judgment,” Rahul Johri’s said in the affidavit, as reported by Cricbuzz.

“In light of the aforesaid, I say and submit that the BCCI (under instructions of the CoA) joins the petitioner in requesting this honourable court to appoint a Committee of Administrators (CoA) to forthwith take charge of the affairs of the MCA and take steps to implement the recommendations of the Lodha Committee as contained in the report and accepted by the Hon’ble Supreme Court vide the judgement and thereafter supervise the conduct of elections thereof,” Johri’s affidavit stated.