The Indian Cricket Control Board (BCCI) will now be under the jurisdiction of the National Sports Governance Bill. The bill will be introduced in Parliament on Wednesday.
“When this bill becomes a law, the BCCI has to obey as other national sports unions comply with the laws of the country,” the news agency PTI said, “When this bill becomes a law, the BCCI adheres to the laws of the country.”
With cricket in the Los Angeles Olympics of 2028, BCCI has now become part of the Olympic Movement. The bill is being brought in to create a strong structure for timely elections, administrative responsibilities and welfare of the players in sports organizations.
Cricket has been included at the Los Angeles Olympics of 2028.
Former BCCI Secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in this regard To Bhaskar Said-
I have no possibility of bringing BCCI in the jurisdiction of this bill. I think BCCI is the most systematically operated organization. The team is also doing well. In this case, other national sports organizations in India should learn from the BCCI and should not be brought to the government area.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandviya also talked about bringing the bill 7 days ago. He said that-
Under this bill, a regulatory board will be formed which will have the authority to recognize and fund the National Sports Federation (NSF). The board will also ensure that sports adhere to the highest administrative, financial and moral standards of the Federation.
Find out in 5 questions What changes will be made in Indian cricket by introducing this bill?
Question-1: Why did you need to bring this bill? BCCI is an autonomous organization. She does not take any grant from the government. In such a case, the government has no control over the BCCI. The government wants to bring it into its own control. But, due to lack of transparency and internal politics in its decisions, the government wants to bring it under an open and responsible system.
- The BCCI does not need government money, so it has been considered as independent of government rules till now. However, cricket is the most popular sport in India and is directly related to the public and players, so it has become necessary for the BCCI to be responsible for the government.
- Now that cricket has been included in the Los Angeles Olympics of 2028, and BCCI has also become part of the Olympic Movement, it has become necessary to bring it under the same rules as other national sports unions.
- There have been frequent controversies in the BCCI regarding the tenure of elections and office bearers. Despite the recommendations of the Lodha Committee, the reform remained incomplete. The new bill will ensure timely elections, clear rules and administrative responsibility.
- The bill will be prepared for the welfare of the players, career security and protection of their interests. So that players can escape from exploitation, politics or discrimination.
Question-2: Has there have been efforts to bring the BCCI under the jurisdiction of the government in the past? Yes, the demand for bringing the BCCI into the government area has been rising from time to time. The Government of India is giving arguments to transparency and responsibility behind this.
Question-3: Will this bill have any impact on cricket players' fees? The purpose of this bill is not to determine the salaries of the players. Until now, there is no indication in the draft or details of the National Sports Government Bill that it will have a direct impact on cricket players' fees or salaries. BCCI pays different match fees for different formats to Indian cricketers. For Test matches, Rs 15 lakh per match, Rs 6 lakh per match for ODI match and Rs 3 lakh per match for T20I match.
Question-4: Will this bill affect the relationship between the ICC and the BCCI? The National Sports Government Bill is less likely to have a direct impact on the relationship between BCCI and ICC. ICC is an independent international organization and BCCI is a member of itself.
According to the rules of the ICC, the cricket board should be independent of government interference. If a country government interferes too much in the work of the cricket board, the ICC can suspend it. As it happened in the case of Pakistan, Nepal and Zimbabwe.
The government is not completely subduing the BCCI, but it wants it to work in a transparent and responsible way. If this bill is applied by maintaining BCCI independence, the ICC does not matter. More than 40% of the ICC's total revenue comes from BCCI. The BCCI is the most powerful cricket board, so the ICC also wants to avoid confrontation with it.
Question-5: Will the introduction of this bill affect Team India's performance? Yes, this bill could affect the Indian team's performance. Because of this bill, the government's intervention in important processes such as training, camp, selection will increase. In this case, Team India's performance is likely to be affected.
Image Credit: Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).