Ramachandra Guha’s resignation leaves BCCI’s Committee of Administrators shocked

Ramachandra Guha was one of the four members of the Committee of Administrators appointed by the Supreme Court to oversee administration of the Board of Control for Cricket in India

Ramachandra Guha has resigned as member of the four-member Committee of Administrators appointed by the Supreme Court to implement the Lodha panel recommendations on the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Ramchandra Guha is a member of the four-member Committee of Administrators appointed by the Supreme Court to oversee BCCI operations and implement the Lodha panel recommendations(HT Photo)

Historian Ramachandra Guha was a member of the CoA that is headed by former auditor of India, Vinod Rai. Former cricket Diana Edulji and Vikram Limaye, the Managing Director and CEO of IDFC Limited.

The CoA was appointed by the Supreme Court on January 30, 2017 after the BCCI was reluctant to implement the Lodha panel report.

A vacation bench of Justices M M Shantanagoudar and Deepak Gupta was informed by Guha’s counsel that he had tendered his resignation on May 28 to Vinod Rai, Chairman of the Committee of Administrators of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

The Supreme Court will hear Ramachandra Guha’s plea to relieve him on July 14. Guha has quit citing personal reasons.

“I don’t know whether this is true or not. His phone is switched off and I haven’t been able to speak to him. The three of us (in the CoA) are not aware about this,” was Diana Edulji’s first reaction when informed about Guha’s resignation.

“It is shocking. I will not comment over it. We will see when we cross the bridge,” Edulji said when asked if Guha’s quitting will disrupt the CoA’s plans.

Ramachandra Guha, who is a cricket buff and resides in Bangalore, resigns at a time when the CoA is expected to take several important decisions concerning the future of the BCCI and the Indian cricket team.

The BCCI has invited bids for the money-spinning Indian Premier League. The broadcast rights will be sold for the next five years starting 2018.

The CoA is yet to fully implement the Lodha reforms.

The controversial one-state-one-vote clause is still a cause for irritation and the Vinod Rai panel has not been very successful in executing this.

The BCCI’s loss of face in terms of revenue share from the ICC has also shown a great disconnect between the CoA members and the (adhoc) Board officials who continue to call the shots.