BCCI treasurer Anirudh Choudhry in dock after allegations of threatening Board official

Slugfests among the cricketing authorities in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have been an open secret. From team selections to abiding by the laws of reforms of the Lodha committee, there have been numerous rifts among the members. There have also been rifts between the board members and the cricketers over several issues.

Consequently, the events led to some ugly consequences, which isn’t healthy for Indian cricket by any stretch of the imagination. Recently, BCCI treasurer Anirudh Choudhry has been accused of threatening Santosh Rangnekar, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the BCCI. Quite rightly, the Supreme Court has sought a response from Choudhary on the allegation.

A bench consisting of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.M Khanwilkar instructed Choudhry to respond within a couple of weeks. Senior advocate Puneet Bali, who is fighting for the BCCI treasurer, denied the allegations. Senior lawyer Gopal Subramanium, who is acting as the amicus curiae in the case, remarked that Vinod Rai, chief of Committee of Administrators (COA), received an e-mail from Anurag Choudhary.

The contents of the mail is said to have allegedly threatened him on three occasions. The apex court has instructed the CoA to compile all the documents in accordance, consisting of the comments and suggestions on the draft constitution of BCCI and fix the matter for hearing in the second week of January 2018.

A need for a smooth run

Cricket is a renowned sport in India and doesn’t need unnecessary hurdles to mar its sanctity. Apart from the brawl between Choudhry and Santosh Rangnekar, the BCCI, in a separate development faces a fine of 52.24 crores by the Competition Committee.

The fine is imposed owing to BCCI’s anti-competitive practices during the Indian Premier League. For the time being, it will be interesting to find out how the events pan out between the two honchos of the BCCI