MUMBAI: The power skirmishes between the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators and the “old guard” of the Board of Control for Cricket in India continues. The CoA on Sunday issued a show-cause notice to Amitabh Choudhary, acting secretary of the BCCI, over his absence during the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) conference in July.
The ICC conference was scheduled from July 14 to 20.
The CoA notice to Choudhary, accessed by IANS, reads: “The CoA came to learn of your unavailability to attend the ICC Conference scheduled in London for July 14, on July 12 when you merely forwarded your e-mail dated July 12 to ICC, informing the ICC of your unavailability for the said meetings.
“The short notice did not leave any room with the CoA to appoint a replacement to attend the said meetings in London. Consequently, the BCCI was unrepresented in the board meeting of the ICC.”
Choudhary is also the BCCI representative to the ICC and to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
The letter further stated: “Notwithstanding the aforesaid and the attitude displayed by you towards the CoA during our meetings, the CoA, in deference to the direction of the Supreme Court, has continued to have you represent the BCCI in ICC meetings. It has now come to the notice of the CoA that in the last meetings of the ICC and the ACC, not only did you not attend the meetings but kept the BCCI in dark about your unavailability either until it was too late or altogether.
“Later, the CoA had approved his travel to Bangkok to attend the ACC AGM on September 3, 2019. Again at the eleventh hour, you failed to attend the ACC meeting, leaving the interests of the BCCI unattended. You did not even deem it necessary to inform the CoA of your unavailability to attend the said meeting.
“The CoA learnt of his unavailability and that too without knowing the reason for the absence, from the Secretary of the ACC as you had mailed to him of your unavailability to attend.
“Thus, the BCCI learnt from the ACC that its own representative was not attending the meeting on the morning of the meeting. This was most humiliating for the CoA and the organisation.
“Besides the fact that in both the meetings the BCCI went unrepresented, its interests have been seriously compromised by your action.”
Choudhary has been asked to explain within seven days (from Sunday) “why action should not be taken against him,” IANS further reports.
