BCCI selects Kapil Dev for Cricket Players' Association
What's the story?
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to bring former Indian skipper and all-rounder, Kapil Dev, into the Cricket Players' Association (CPA), which was one of the major reforms recommended by the Lodha Committee.
Apart from the 1983 World Cup-winning captain, former India batsman Anshuman Gaekwad, wicketkeeper Bharath Reddy and ex-India women's team captain Shanta Rangaswamy will form the working panel of the association.
In case you didn't know...
The Committee of Administrators (CoA), in its meeting on 12 December 2017, decided to form a functional group of the CPA with all the aforementioned names.
In the fourth status report released by the committee, a request for directions from the Supreme Court for reconstituting the steering committee was made by the CoA. This had been originally issued under the recommendations of the Lodha Committee to form a players' association.
Former Indian cricketer, Mohinder Amarnath, was a part of the steering committee. However, he resigned from the same, along with two other members, asserting their inability to carry out its functions.
The details
The names of Kapil, Gaekwad, and Reddy were pushed forward by the CoA for the formation of the CPA. Rangaswamy was also recommended for the working group so that there is a substantial representation of women's cricket in the organization. The committee that was recommended by the Lodha Committee insisted on the presence of a woman smack in the centre of the proceedings.
The CoA has already held two meetings on the matter and will look to work further and delve deeper into the development of the CPA with those to be held in the near future.
What's next?
The CoA is still working on the formation of the association and is, as per its own statement, looking into prospective candidates to fit into the male, female and physically challenged categories of the sport.
Author's take
While thinking of roping in a big name like Kapil Dev is a good step by the BCCI, the preparation leading up to the formation of this working group is far from complete.
It must invest the right amount of time and money to identify and pick the right candidates for the job and ensure that all kinds of international and domestic cricketers carry representation within the group.