Former Indian fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad and his team have criticized the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) for the scheduling of its next elections and how they interpret the “nine-year rule.” The KSCA has responded to their criticism.
The organization responded to Cricbuzz’s questions by stating that it was aware of the election dates “because some of the current Managing Committee members are aligned with them.” The KSCA additionally stated, “We are a society and as per rules we need to inform our members by giving 21 clear days and thus nothing turns out on their information in the press about asking us to announce dates.”
The association denied rumors that the announcement was postponed, stating that “the group led by our beloved Venkatesh Prasad were aware of the election dates because some of the current members of the Managing Committee are in agreement with them.” The only goal is to make the problem seem dramatic to the general audience.
In an October 28 press release, the KSCA said that its elections would take place on November 30. According to the report, a meeting on October 14 decided to hold the polls at the end of November, and a second meeting on October 25 reaffirmed the decision.
Prasad, who had previously questioned the postponement of elections for important office-bearer positions, has announced his desire to run alongside a group supported by former India captain Shanta Rangaswamy and comprising former KSCA treasurer Vinay Mruthyunjaya. In an interview with the media, he had called the protracted wait “a violation of the association’s constitution” and stated that it was “high time” the KSCA made the election calendar public.
The “nine-year rule”—a clause resulting from the Lodha Committee’s reforms on cricket administration—has been a major source of disagreement between the two sides. Following six consecutive years in office, a necessary three-year cooling-off period was imposed. The rule, which was first allowed by the Supreme Court in 2016, limits a person’s overall tenure in cricket administration to nine years, combining service at the state and BCCI levels.
The two were separated, nevertheless, by a 2019 Supreme Court ruling that permitted up to nine years in a state association and a further nine at the BCCI level.
Prasad and his group have insisted that this interpretation is already reflected in the KSCA’s current bylaws, which were registered after to the 2019 order. “In my opinion, there is nothing that has changed in the bye-laws since the 2019 clarification,” Prasad claimed. “They have even held elections for posts that had been occupied for nine years. How, therefore, is a different interpretation possible now?
Nonetheless, the KSCA emphasized in its press release that it would not jeopardize non-adherence to BCCI guidelines. We as an organization have nothing against anyone who is eligible to run for office. The claim that we are blocking some people from running for office is untrue. Ensuring that our cricket players are given equal opportunities in BCCI competitions is our top concern as we strive to become a compliant association. Our goal is to guarantee that KSCA maintains its membership in BCCI and to prioritize the institution over individuals. This is our first priority.
Some groups understand this to mean that an individual can serve as an Office Bearer for nine years and an ordinary member of the Managing Committee for nine more years, for a total of eighteen years. For a total of 27 years, a person can be in and around the State Association’s administration, with a cooling-off period of three years added every six years. An additional 27 years at BCCI may result from a similar interpretation. Therefore, it is against the principles of the Lodha Committee Report and the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s ruling that an individual can serve as cricket administrator for up to 54 years.
The 9-year norm has been enforced consistently, the KSCA added.
“In respect of the 9-year rule it is applicable to several persons and to only one individual they have named in their press information,” said the statement, adding that “we have to be compliant with the BCCI rules regarding KSCA affiliation and failure can be fatal to our cricket as our membership only will be in peril.”
The group stated that “certain individuals have put the institution above their personal interest and have resigned from the managing committee to ensure we do not fall short of BCCI rules for our affiliation.” It further stated that “a group of eminent jurists who are part of the legal advisory committee have also given their opinion that the nine years are cumulative.”
According to the KSCA, its 2019 letter to the Registrar of Societies “fortifies that the nine-year limit is to be taken cumulatively i.e., nine years for both office bearer and managing committee.” According to the association, the COA advise from 2019, the Supreme Court’s orders from 2018 and 2022, and its internal legal minutes “clearly explain that the cumulative limit must be followed.”
“The BCCI clearly state that if any state Association has a rule which permits more than nine years then they will be debarred from membership implying that our cricketers cannot participate in BCCI tournaments and also will not receive grants from BCCI,” the KSCA stated.
The Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling (Para 32) stated that “an individual should not hold office in BCCI for a period in excess of nine years (regardless of post held) with a similar stipulation of nine years for the State Associations,” it added. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association’s application (IA No 94179/2019) was later rejected as infructuous in December 2020.
The TNCA had contested the interpretation of the nine-year norm established in the Lodha Committee reforms, and the KSCA’s position is similar to that of that group. At the state and BCCI levels, separate nine-year terms could be served, according to the TNCA, which also claimed that the restriction only applied to office-bearers and not to all committee members. The Supreme Court left the ultimate interpretation of the rule open even though it permitted the TNCA to hold its elections in September 2019 through an interim order.
Later, the TNCA’s reading was criticized by the Committee of Administrators for weakening the reforms’ spirit and for raising the possibility that other state organizations would do the same. As the CoA pointed out in a petition to the court, the KSCA actually changed its own constitution in response to this decision to make sure that its adherence could not be questioned subsequently.
The managing committee “by majority has accepted the advice and has interpreted the rule,” according to the KSCA. Our regulations provide that the managing committee has the last say in how they are interpreted. It reaffirmed: “We have not applied the rule to any individual member personally and in fact it applies to all the members keeping into account the various factors listed above and more so importantly that we do not want to lose membership and affiliation of BCCI and thereby come in the way of not receiving funds and further our cricketers not eligible for participating in BCCI tournaments.”
“We have put the institution and our cricket first in these matters and repeat we do not have any personal issues with anyone,” said the KSCA’s reply.
Setting the stage for the impending elections, the election date announcement has finally provided clarity to a situation that had been unclear for months. The KSCA’s immediate priorities will be holding the elections without incident and in compliance with all legal requirements; disagreements on the nine-year limit are likely to come up during the nomination screening process.
India
