The Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Jay Shah has submitted an application in the Supreme Court for to extend his tenure in the board to a full three-year term. He has reportedly applied for a nod from the Supreme Court.
Shah along with BCCI president Sourav Ganguly is allowed only truncated terms in the apex cricket body as per Justice Lodha Committee-recommended reforms, which restrict all office-bearers two service two consecutive terms of three years or less in the national or State cricket administrative bodies.
Shah, according to Outlook, has applied for an extension, contending that continuity will help BCCI at a time when cricket is facing a crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic. If the Supreme Court upholds Shah’s appeal, it will also mean Ganguly could also enjoy a possible Supreme Court-mandated extension.
Otherwise, Ganguly too will have vacate the BCCI president’s office in July.
Shah reportedly has sent his petition via an email.
Since, Shah and Ganguly have respectively been president and secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal and the Gujarat Cricket Associations, their terms in the BCCI have been limited to the completion of the permitted six-year tenure. It is mandatory to have a three-year cooling period thereafter.
The Ganguly-led BCCI in December last year had resolved to seek the Supreme Court’s approval to dilute the administrative reforms on tenure cap for its office-bearers. Without a favourable verdict from the Apex Court, Ganguly and Shah will have to vacate their respective BCCI offices.
Shah had already stopped functioning as the BCCI secretary as treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal has been signing and sending all official communication.