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Sourav Ganguly In BCCI Working Group To Study Lodha Report, Submit Recommendations In Six Weeks

IPL Chairman Shukla Says Appointment Of Working Group Is Not A Delaying Tactic
MUMBAI, INDIA - JANUARY 19: Rajeev Shukla, chairman of the BCCI Media and Finance Committee attends the Indian Premier League Auction 2010 on January 19, 2010 in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Ritam Banerjee/Getty Images)
Ritam Banerjee via Getty Images
MUMBAI, INDIA - JANUARY 19: Rajeev Shukla, chairman of the BCCI Media and Finance Committee attends the Indian Premier League Auction 2010 on January 19, 2010 in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Ritam Banerjee/Getty Images)

Indian cricket's governing body, the Board for Control of Cricket in India, said that it had appointed a working group to decide the steps forward after a committee headed by Justice RM Lodha submitted its report.

The report had said that Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals be suspended for two years in the Indian Premier League because of the involvement of two prominent people in both teams in match betting. The Supreme Court had earlier found Gurunath Meiyappan — son-in-law of former BCCI president and CSK team owner N Srinivasan — and Raj Kundra, co-owner of Rajasthan Royals with wife and actress Shilpa Shetty, guilty. The suspensions of both teams will take effect Tuesday.

But instead of implementing the ban, the BCCI has set up a team to study its recommendations. IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said that this was not a delaying tactic and that the working group, in which former captain Sourav Ganguly is a member, will suggest ways to put the order into effect. Shukla, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur and treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhary are other members in the group.

"I want to make it very clear that the BCCI has already accepted the Justice Lodha committee verdict in toto. The working group has been formed to draw up the future roadmap of IPL 9. There is no question of any dilly-dallying," said IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla. The group has six weeks to submit its recommendations.

"IPL will be held with a minimum of eight teams. There will be no change in that. How we will proceed will be be recommended by the working group which will have discussions with all the stakeholders like the sponsors, broadcasters, franchisees and state associations," he said.

Shukla said that the BCCI was aware that these issues have legal ramifications. "The procedures that we adopt will therefore be approved by our legal experts, that is why we need some time to give the recommendations," he said.

Preparation for IPL 9 will start only after all these issues are resolved. He said that there was an option that a management team appointed by the BCCI could run CSK and RR teams for two years, allowing for their participation in the next edition. "Credible people can be selected for that job so that the question of conflict of interest does not arise," he said. "Another option is that we invite new bids for the two teams to ensure that the league is an eight-team affair. After two years when CSK and RR complete their suspension period, we will have 10 teams. We will consider all the options," he added.

The Lodha Committee was appointed on the directions of the Supreme Court in January 2015.

(With agency inputs)

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.