CPL will take time to be formed, says former India skipper Kapil Dev

Ex-India skipper Kapil Dev with the 1983 World Cup at the BCCI office in Churchgate yesterday. Pic/Tweeted by BCCI Ceo Rahul Johri

A meeting about the to-be-formed Cricket Players Association (CPA) was held at the BCCI's Cricket Centre in Churchgate yesterday. The meeting, attended by former India captain Kapil Dev, ex-coach Anshuman Gaekwad, former India women's skipper Shantha Rangaswamy and former Home Secretary GK Pillai, stretched for nearly two hours. "It is still a work in progress. We are trying our best," Kapil told mid-day when asked about the time it will take for the steering committee to conclude its task.

During the meeting, the members discussed the implementation of an e-voting system for the process of electing five members for the executive committee of the Indian Cricket Players' Association (ICPA). "It won't be feasible to call all eligible players from the country to one place for voting. This [e-voting] is a system that most corporate giants implement," said a source.

Members also discussed tightening the eligibility criteria for players who will be nominated to the Apex Council of the BCCI. According to the Justice Lodha Committee recommendations, the eligibility criteria is: "Such member elected must have either played at least five Tests or a minimum number of 25 firstclass matches, if it is a male, or a minimum number of 10 first-class matches, if it is a female."

The committee is set to recommend to the Supreme Court (SC) the discharging of duties mentioned in the Justice Lodha report. The report states: "The Executive Committee shall elect/nominate two of the members for being appointed as Members of the Apex Council of BCCI, and one member to the IPL Governing Council."

The source said that the above point needs fine-tuning: "There are chances this may be construed vaguely. There has to be a minimum criteria for number of matches for the executive committee to nominate members to the BCCI Apex Council and IPL GC. Else, any cricketer with lesser experience can get nominated. We'll recommend and it will be for the court to decide."

The CPA is most likely to be registered under the Companies Act and a similar players' body may be proposed for all state associations. Once there is clarity from the SC in the May 11 hearing, the formation of the CPA should be completed in four months, said the source. "The players' database is ready. Once the SC accepts the draft constitution, the names of the players eligible will be up on the BCCI website. We will give a 30-day window for them to raise any queries. Once that is done, relevant bank accounts will be opened and elections will be conducted," the source concluded.

Also Read: Kapil Dev: Memories Of June 25, 1983 Came Flashing Through After Visiting BCCI Office

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