The big news: Will the SC impose sanctions on the BCCI?

The tussle between the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Supreme Court is a never ending affair and on Monday, the Apex Court considered imposing monetary sanctions on the Indian cricket board until they implemented reforms suggested by the Lodha panel. The court reserved its orders on issues such as fixing a limit on money the BCCI could use, and seeking the Lodha panel’s approval for all financial contracts and agreements.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India TS Thakur said that replacing the BCCI representatives with a body of independent administrator was also an option among others. “Should there be an embargo on withdrawal of money beyond a certain amount? Should they go to Justice Lodha panel whenever they want to enter into a financial contract? We will examine all that,” said the bench, reserving its order.

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“We want to understand what are your genuine problems. But at every stage there appears to be defiance and obstruction,” said the bench.

Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, representing the BCCI, said that they had issues with one state-one vote policy and were also against taking away the votes from the founder clubs.

Other top stories

  1. West Indies made Pakistan toil hard to win the first Test in Dubai on Monday as the visitors suffered a 56-run defeat. Left-hander Darren Bravo (116) was a class apart as the Caribbean side were chasing an improbable 346. Pakistan won their first pink-ball Test and their 400th Test match.
  2. Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin hailed Harbhajan Singh and asked the public to bring an an end  tothe unhealthy banter between the duo. The "banter" which Ashwin had referred to in his tweet in all probability referred to the reaction following Singh's tweets after New Zealand had been bowled out for 299 in the third Test at Indore with Ashwin picking up 6/81. Singh's tweet had been construed to indicate that Ashwin's rich wicket haul was a result of the helpful turning surfaces he had received.
  3. Kent head coach Jimmy Adams is leaving the county to return to Jamaica after spending five years at the English County club. "I've enjoyed my time at Kent which has been a great learning experience for me. I wanted to be involved in a club that was seeking to grow and I am fortunate to have found that here at Kent over the past five seasons,” said Adams. He is one of the potential candidates for the role of West Indies coach.
  4. Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar claimed that match-fixing was at its peak in 1996. He also said that the environment in the Pakistani dressing room was far from conducive. "Trust me it was the worst possible dressing room environment at that time (1996)," Akhtar told a news channel. "There was a lot going on than just cricket and it was difficult to focus on cricket in the dressing room. It was a bad environment."
  5. Former Australian captain Steve Waugh indicated that he would consider the role of selector after the panel's chairman Rod Marsh will vacate his post at the end of the season. Marsh's decision to not renew his contract was announced after Austrlia's One-Day International series against South Africa ended in a 5-0 defeat. Waugh said he would be open to joining the panel. "I'd listen to it if the opportunity came up, but there are a lot of things you've got to throw into the mix and see whether it's the right time," Waugh said in an interview. "I think there are a lot of good cricket brains in Australia. No one has asked me, but I'd listen to it."
  6. Even before the Test series with South Africa starts, Australia seem to have been hit with injury crisis already. Shaun Marsh is unlikely to start in the opening match at the WACA Ground in Perth. Marsh, who has a long history of hamstring trouble, suffered the injury while batting for Western Australia against Tasmania in a Matador Cup match at North Sydney Oval on Saturday.