NEW DELHI: India’s professional cricketers will officially become stakeholders in the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s decision making policies as the long awaited players association will be officially registered in the next two to three weeks.
The name – Indian Cricketers Association – has already been referred for registration and the body is set to come into existence before the next annual general meeting (AGM) of the cricket board.
However, since this is a development being managed under the BCCI’s watch, any affiliation with the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations can be ruled out. Why? Because the world’s richest and most powerful cricket board has chosen not to recognise FICA.
Speaking to IANS, a senior BCCI functionary said: “Indian Cricketers Association is the name and it has been sent for registration. Once that is through, all the processes will start. We must have the players’ association before the next AGM of the BCCI. It will be a sub-committee.”
The functioning of ICA will be independent of BCCI’s functioning and the association will have to generate their own funds even though BCCI will provide with some initial grants, PTI reports.
“The BCCI will obviously provide some grant at the onset so that the association can start functioning but ultimately it will be up to the members to start generating funds,” Commitee of Administrators chief Vinod Rai told PTI.
Commenting on the role of the players’ association, the BCCI functionary told IANS: “Two people from the players’ association will be nominated for the apex council. It will be completely different from the technical committee of the BCCI. The names for the executive committee will come in only after the states register their constitution and conduct their elections.”
The official said that all decisions regarding the composition of the players’ association will be taken by the steering committee which consists of Kapil Dev, Bharath Reddy, Anshuman Gaekwad and former India women’s team captain Shantha Rangaswamy.
“The number of players who will be part of the executive committee and their scope of work will be decided by the four members along with convenor GK Pillai. They also have a legal advisor in Nandan Kamath,” the functionary explained.
Noting on the need to have a players’ association, the Lodha panel had said: “There shall be a Cricket Players’ Association affording membership to all international and most first-class men and women retired cricketers. This Association shall discharge assigned functions with the financial support of the BCCI. It shall be brought into existence by an independent steering committee.”
