BCCI to form working committee to study Lodha panel verdict

In the aftermath of the Lodha Panel verdict which has recommended suspensions to IPL franchises Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, the BCCI announced the formation of a working committee during their meeting in Mumbai on Sunday. The six-member committee, decided by IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla will study the impact of the sentence and make recommendations to the Government Council after a time period of six weeks.IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla said the members of the group would be finalised by Monday. "House has entrusted me with the responsibility to make a small group that will take six weeks to submit a report as to how we implement the order and way forward for IPL. How to conduct IPL, how many teams and all stakeholders CAC members, sponsors, broadcasters, state associations, legal experts that report will come to GC and it will go WC which will take decision," Shukla said. "Members will be announced tomorrow [Monday]. We have decided to implement Justice Lodha verdict in spirit and decided to work accordingly. All stakeholders have given their opinion, everybody is of the view that the show must go on. And I reiterate that IPL 9 will be bigger and greater," he asserted.

Shukla refused to reveal the details of the meeting and took at shot at former BCCI President Shashank Manohar for his demand of terminating the two franchises. "We cannot divulge the deliberations of the meeting. A sub-group has been constituted which will recommend what needs to be done. A Supreme Court-appointed committee has deliberated on it (the IPL scandal) and after it has given its verdict, I don't think there is scope for anybody else to comment," he said.
The Council met in order to deliberate the order passed by the Lodha Committee and came up with the following minutes (according to BCCI's Press release) -:

- BCCI respects the verdict of the Lodha Commission and will abide by their decisions, in totality.

- The members recognised that there is an urgent need to understand the impact of this decision and the wider ramifications for BCCI in detail, so as to uphold the paramountcy of the game in our country.

- The IPL GC hence authorised the Chairman, Shri Rajeev Shukla, to constitute a working group which will study this verdict, in consultation with all our key advisors and explore all the possible measures to be adopted, with an objective to protect the interests of all the stakeholders involved.

- This group will work within a time bound period of 6 weeks and report their recommendations to the IPL GC, which will deliberate and share their views with the working committee of the BCCI, for further action.