BCCI to get CEO; Chhattisgarh gets full-member status

The BCCI working committee has decided to set in motion the process for hiring a chief executive officer (CEO) and chief financial officer (CFO) for the board. The decision was taken at the working committee in Mumbai on Friday, which was followed by a special general meeting (SGM) of the board. The big domestic news to come out of the SGM was the decision to grant full-member status to Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh - meaning they will now play BCCI tournaments including the Ranji Trophy, taking the number of Ranji teams up to 28.

On the international front, it was decided to rework the BCCI's future tours programme (FTP) for the period 2016 to 2023, to "ensure equitable distribution of the matches". Following the ICC revamp in 2014, when the main FTP-setting powers passed from the ICC to the individual boards, the BCCI signed bilateral agreements that confirmed India would play the most Tests (20) against England from 2015 to 2023, followed by Australia (16) and South Africa (12), with teams see as less attractive opposition seemingly losing out.

The creation of the post of a CEO was a change recommended by the Lodha panel, which had looked into the governance of the board, and submitted a report with the Supreme Court of India, which was then passed on to the BCCI. One of the big recommendations dealt with the board separating its governance and management duties, with the CEO taking charge of the management side of things. The board was supposed to let the court know by March 3 about the implementation of all the recommendations. "If you have any difficulty in implementing it, we will have the Lodha Committee implement it for you," Justice Thakur had told the BCCI counsel.

IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla, though, said the board's decision to create the posts had nothing to do with the Lodha recommendation. "This is based on the 'Project Transformation' report," Shukla said. In October, auditing giant M/S Deloitte was hired for "Project Transformation", the board's initiative aimed at improving governance, and operational and financial processes, according to a statement explaining the project on the BCCI's website.

With regards to the Lodha recommendations, the BCCI decided to file an affidavit in the Supreme Court to point out the "anomalies" in the Lodha report, and the "difficulties" encountered in the implementation of all its recommendations. While BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said the affidavit will be filed on March 3 - the deadline given by the Supreme Court - IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla said it would be done earlier. "We will file our affidavit before the deadline. KK Venugopal is appearing for us [in this case]," Shukla said.