Thaindian News

Kolkata, Oct 29 (IANS) Following in the footsteps of the Indian Olympic Association, the Indian cricket board Saturday rejected the revised draft of the contentious sports regulation bill of the central government, saying it “tends to encroach upon fundamental rights of sports bodies”.

In a statement after its working committee meeting here, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Sanjay Jagdale also alleged that certain provisions in the National Sports Development Bill “seek to destroy the autonomy of the board and dilute the rights of its members”.

“While the BCCI is all for good governance and transparency in sports bodies, certain aspects of the bill seek to destroy the autonomy of the board and dilute the rights of its members,” the statement read.

“Therefore, the board is totally opposed to this bill.”

The BCCI said it will communicate its objections to the ministry of youth affairs & sports shortly.

“It has to be borne in mind that ‘Sports’ is a state subject and the legislative competence of the central government is limited. The bill tends to encroach upon fundamental rights of sports bodies,” Jagdale added.

Under pressure from the national sports federations, particularly the powerful BCCI, the sports ministry had come out with a revised draft of the bill making 14 changes including dropping a clause requiring athletes to state their whereabouts to enable dope tests. The union cabinet had rejected the bill in its earlier form in August.

However, the revised legislation left untouched the contentious age and tenure limit of office-bearers of sports federations and the IOA and also brings all sports bodies under the RTI Act.

The bill allows for 25 percent representation for sportspersons in the NSFs and bars officials of the sports ministry from contesting elections in NSFs or the IOA for five years after leaving their jobs.

Only a day after the sports ministry came out with the revised bill, the IOA rejected the measure, saying the government is trying to strangulate the autonomy of the sports federations and hijack the Olympic movement in India.

The BCCI working committee also decided to elevate the cash-rich Indian Premier League as List “A” match and approved in principle the proposal that a certain portion of the gate income of the IPL be awarded as benefit for retired cricketers. A committee has been appointed to work out the modalities.

The working committee decided to institute awards for the best all-rounder in the Ranji Trophy and the Best All-Rounder in domestic limited-overs tournaments, in the name of former Indian captain Lala Amarnath from this season, to commemorate his birth centenary.

The awards in each category will comprise a trophy and a cash prize of Rs.2.5 lakh, Jagdale said.

The working committee members also approved the appointment of South Africa’s Evan Speechly as physiotherapist of the Indian team for a period of two years. He will join the team for the 3rd Test between India and West Indies to be played in Mumbai Nov 22-26.