Vinod Rai as head of CoA is in charge of implementing Lodha reforms, one of which capped age of cricket administrators at 70.
New Delhi: As Vinod Rai, the chairman of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA), turned 70 today there were some in the Indian cricketing fraternity who celebrated his birthday perhaps more eagerly than he did.
This is because a controversial set of recommendations put in place by the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Committee in 2016 capped the age of BCCI administrators to 70 years.
So, the question today is, will Rai now resign, since he will clearly be contravening the rules put in place by the body that appointed him to enforce the recommendations?
After all, Rai heads the CoA, which was set up by the Supreme Court because of the non-implementation of the Lodha reforms by the BCCI.
Speaking to ThePrint, former Chief Justice of the Punjab and Harayana High Court and the head of FIFA Governance Committee said he wasn’t sure what Mr. Rai would do.
“He is appointed by the court, so the mandate is of the court. Till the court relieves him, he cannot leave,” Mudgal, who is also an expert in the field of sports law said.
The Lodha panel was set up in 2015 to clean up cricket after several allegations of corruption, match fixing and betting scandals surfaced.
The age cap of 70 was one of its most controversial reforms and was staunchly opposed by the BCCI. The fallout was the disqualifications of senior BCCI administrators such as Niranjan Shah, Sharad Pawar and N. Srinivasan.
Shah, who has ruled Saurashtra Cricket Association for almost 40 years, had a birthday message for Rai.
“Dear Shri Vinodji, a span of seven decades is indeed significant in any individual’s life. It becomes a matter of retrospective appraisal to view, to analyse and to assess what could be attained and accomplished,” Shah was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
Quoting Mark Twain, he also added that, “Age is mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
Shah’s birthday message was tweeted by freelance cricket writer Anand Vasu.
“Vinod Rai of the Committee of Administrators, who laid down the mandatory retirement age for BCCI officials as 70, receives heartfelt 70th birthday wishes. Will he walk away?” he wondered.
Vinod Rai of the Committee of Administrators who laid down the mandatory retirement age for @BCCI officials as 70, receives heartfelt 70th birthday wishes. Will he walk away? pic.twitter.com/DAyuR4TiDx
— Anand Vasu (@anandvasu) May 23, 2018
The cricketing body too has been vocal about its desire to see Rai exit his post.
“Bishen Singh Bedi’s name had been recommended to be part of the CoA in January last year but his name had to be dropped because he had already turned 70 in September 2016. If someone of Bedi’s stature, who actually understands the game because he’s played it at the highest level, had to be sidelined then please tell us how can Rai continue?” The Times of India quoted members as saying.
The ball is now in Rai’s court.