BCCI welcomes sports bill conditionally

Anurag Thakur, the president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association, has said that the BCCI welcomes the sports bill proposed by the Indian government but objects to a few clauses. The provisions that Thakur said were unacceptable are those that specify term limits for office bearers, require at least 25% of elected representatives to be former players and bring all national sports federations under the Right to Information Act, which would essentially require the board to divulge operational information to anyone who files a legitimate request.

Thakur said that the BCCI already limits terms for its president and office bearers to three years, which is a significantly shorter period than the bill's limit of 12 years. He also said the accounts of the board are available online and that "we we work in a very transparent and effective manner". [Ed's note: The BCCI's website has a link to its annual report which says "coming soon" and currently there are no sets of accounts available on its website.]

"The BCCI is the most professionally-run sports organisation in the world, especially in India," Thakur said. "And we have taken cricket to new heights ... (As for) the issue of RTI, as per the Chief Information Commissioner, he has very clearly stated in the Supreme Court that BCCI doesn't fall under the category of RTI. So I think if the government makes some changes to the RTI Act, then only we will come under it."

One of the potential drawbacks of falling under the RTI Act, according to Thakur, was that it could get in the way of the day-to-day operations of the BCCI if the board is forced to respond to requests about selections issues and scheduling. "The BCCI is an autonomous body and there should not be government interference."

On the subject of reservations for former players, Thakur pointed out that a number of former players are already in executive positions, such as Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath, the president and secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, and Shivlal Yadav, the vice-president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association. "On the technical committee and selection committee (of the BCCI), we have only cricketers and umpires," Thakur said.