SC adjourns plea seeking extension for Sourav Ganguly, Jay Shah's tenure to July 21

The Supreme Court of India has adjourned for the day on Wednesday on the petition seeking amendments in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) constitution. The hearing of the plea will continue on Thursday regarding the extension of the tenures of Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah. The matter was adjourned by the bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana.

The BCCI moved to the Supreme Court on the 15th of July to amend six rules in the board’s constitution. One of the rules is the ‘cooling off’ period, which states that an office bearer in either BCCI or state board will have to undergo a mandatory three-year cooling off period after a six-year term in the office.

In 2018, The Supreme Court nodded in favor of the cooling-off period after a recommendation from the Justice RM Lodha Committee stating, “the game will be better off without cricketing oligopolies.”

The current tenure of BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah is set to expire in 2022, which will mean that neither of the two will be able to contest for any posts in the board or state associations for three years.

BCCI to increase pension of retired Indian cricketers

Notably, after retiring from all forms of cricket, Ganguly’s administrative role began in 2014, when he was appointed as the secretary for the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). The former Indian captain then became the president of the board and was re-elected as the president in 2019 before taking charge as the president of BCCI.

In another latest development, former Chief Justice of Odisha High Court, Vineet Saran, was appointed BCCI’s ethics officer and ombudsman. The 65-year-old took charge of the vacated posts after Justice D.K. Jain, whose tenure ended last year in June. Under his guidance, the BCCI council will have to lay grounds for the upcoming media rights for the home season (2023 onwards), and the meeting, which will be held in the Mumbai headquarters, will make an official statement regarding the increase in pension for the former cricketers.