India panel proposes cricket board revamp after scandals

 A panel appointed by India's Supreme Court on Monday proposed sweeping changes to the country's scandal-hit cricket board and said gambling should be made legal.

The panel headed by former chief justice Rajendra Mal Lodha was appointed after a string of corruption scandals at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Its report, seen by AFP, recommends barring politicians from the sport's governing body and introducing time limits on holding office.  

It also suggests legalising betting after a popular Twenty20 tournament run by the BCCI, the Indian Premier League (IPL), was rocked by allegations of corruption, match-fixing and crooked umpires.

"As far as betting alone is concerned... it would serve both the game and economy if it were legalised," the report suggests, with several riders.

Gambling is mostly illegal in India, but betting on cricket matches thrives through networks of underground bookies.

Lodha's panel was formed in January last year to recommend changes after the top court found two IPL franchise owners guilty of betting on the outcome of matches in 2013.

In July it suspended the Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) teams, triggering the resignation of former BCCI chief Narayanaswami Srinivasan.

He was found guilty of a conflict of interest for being at the helm of Indian Cements which owns CSK.

The panel exonerated IPL chief operating officer Sundar Raman, citing lack of evidence, after it was tasked to investigate match-fixing allegations against him.  
"I have heard that I have been given a clean chit and I appreciate it," Raman, who resigned in November, told the Press Trust of India news agency.

Lodha said the BCCI should bar ministers and government officials as well as anyone over 70 from holding office and impose a three-year maximum term for holding office.

The panel also suggests a separate executive body for the IPL as well as the appointment of an independent ombudsman, and ethics and electoral officers to address grievances and conflicts of interest.

The BCCI, which generates huge revenues due to its vast television audiences, should also be brought under India's Right to Information Act to ensure accountability, the panel added.

Commentators welcomed the recommendations, saying they would help restore the BCCI's credibility and bring transparency.

"It might be tempting to term them radical, but the Lodha committee has basically recommended good corporate practices," Cricinfo editor Sambit Bal tweeted, calling them "well thought out and wide-ranging".

The BCCI enjoys a pre-eminent position in world cricket and effectively runs the International Cricket Council with its allies Australia and England.

The top court will now rule on whether the recommendations should be legally binding.

Former lawyer Shashank Manohar took charge of the BCCI in October, vowing a new era of clean governance.

The cash-rich but faction-ridden body has usually been run by politicians or industrialists with conflicting interests.
Source: AFP