Code of Conduct committee meets to finalise draft

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Code of Conduct committee headed by its convener Kishore Rungta held a second sitting in New Delhi on Saturday to finalise a draft code for the Indian cricketers, which is to be submitted to the Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, SS Dhindsa on August 1.

The meeting was held with two members namely Ashok Kumbhat and VB Subba Rao absent. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association secretary, Ashok Kumbhat could not make it for the meeting since he is to undergo a bypass surgery on August 4 while Subba Rao would be reaching Delhi only on Sunday for the BCCI's working committee meeting.

Rungta, who is also the BCCI treasurer, said to the Press Trust of India that the draft code would be discussed with BCCI secretary JY Lele, who is representing the two absentees on the committee, and the third member, Vidharba's Shashank Manohar. Rungta added ``We will discuss the code thoroughly. It might take more time and we may have to continue on Sunday also to finalise it.''

The Code of Conduct Committee held its first meeting in Mumbai on July 24 in order to finalise a draft code for the players, umpires and officials but the code could not be finalised the first time round, hence necessitating the second sitting.

The draft code will be discussed by the BCCI during the working committee meeting, which will be attended by the Board President AC Muthiah, former President Raj Singh Dungarpur and the former International Cricket Council (ICC) President Jagmohan Dalmiya, before it is submitted to the government for approval on August 1.

Pending approval by the Sports Ministry, the draft code is expected to come into effect for the forthcoming Sahara Cup series against Pakistan scheduled to be held in Toronto from September 9 to 14.