TNCA constitution does not comply with BCCI's, says CoA

Even as the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) made history by electing a woman president, a first for Indian state associations, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) has ruled that the TNCA's constitution does not comply with the one the BCCI registered last August.

Without a certificate of compliance from the CoA, no state association can send a representative to the BCCI elections, scheduled for October 23. The TNCA is one of only two state associations out of the BCCI's 37 members, along with the Haryana Cricket Association, to not comply with the BCCI constitution.

In May, the CoA had laid out a timeline for the state associations to put the nuts and bolts in place in order to carry out elections as per the new BCCI constitution. This week, the CoA revised the deadline for a second time, to October 4, for state associations to wrap up their elections. This was necessitated after several state associations, including the TNCA, expressed their reluctance to comply with some of the structural reforms that were approved by the Supreme Court based on the recommendations of the RM Lodha Committee.

However, last Friday, the court ruled that the TNCA should go ahead with its elections and its results would be subject to the final order it would pass before the BCCI elections. Accordingly, the TNCA conducted its elections, where Rupa - N Srinivasan's daughter - was elected unopposed along with other office bearers.

Around the same time, the CoA sent out a non-compliance notice. "The TNCA submitted its constitution on Wednesday. But our legal team has pointed out areas it is not compliant in," Vinod Rai, the CoA chairman, told ESPNcricinfo. "Only compliant state associations can nominate representatives to the BCCI general body. And the person they nominate should not be disqualified [as per the eligibility criteria]."

One of the key reforms as recommended by the Lodha Committee, which is part of the BCCI constitution, concerns former international players finding two seats on the Apex Council. Currently, the new TNCA administration has no cricketer in its team.

RS Ramasaamy, the newly elected TNCA secretary, said the necessary amendments to the state association's constitution, as desired by the CoA, were being looked after by the TNCA's legal team. "We submitted the amended constitution with the Registrar of Societies after which we sent it to the BCCI. But the CoA has said some minor amendments need to be carried out," Ramasaamy said. "That has been sent to the TNCA legal team. But to our knowledge we have complied with almost everything, but there may be one or two minor aberrations which the legal team will advise us on."

Ramasaamy said he was confident the TNCA would be able to send an eligible representative to the BCCI elections.