BCCI SGM on August 5 to discuss implementation of Lodha report

The BCCI has convened a special general meeting on August 5 in Mumbai to discuss the implementation of the Lodha Committee's recommendations approved by the Supreme Court. Officials from the BCCI and multiple state associations told ESPNcricinfo they had received formal communication from the board on Tuesday evening, but were reluctant to speculate on the next course of action.

It is understood that the board's legal committee, which will likely meet before the SGM, will offer some clarity to the BCCI and its member units. "The legal committee has to meet first. The legal heads are making different points that we have to discuss," a senior BCCI official said. "All of a sudden they can't say anything without going through the whole thing. We cannot take a unilateral decision."

While the BCCI's top brass is scheduled to meet the Lodha committee in Delhi on August 9, it is learnt that the board, disillusioned by the recent developments, is not in any hurry to go through with the meeting. "The date is not fixed yet," the board official said. "Before that we are going to make sure that whatever we want to discuss we should discuss it among ourselves first and only then take it forward. We cannot just directly go [to a meeting]."

The Mumbai Cricket Association recently announced its decision to accept the recommendations totally, with its president Sharad Pawar agreeing to voluntarily step down within six months in accordance with the verdict. The BCCI official expressed concern over entirely new teams possibly taking over state associations, and conceded that the mood in the BCCI was downbeat.

"Everybody is going through the same problem. In some associations, all the people will have to be replaced," he said. "They cannot function - either they are 70 and above or they [are disqualified because of the] cooling period [rule]. The entire team will comprise new people. I don't know how we are going to function."

The Supreme Court, on July 18, had accepted the majority of the Lodha Committee's recommendations covering wide-ranging aspects of Indian cricket at the central and state level. It has given the BCCI between four and six months to implement the recommendations and appointed RM Lodha, the former chief justice of India who was the architect of the report, to oversee the transition.