Why Indian Railways won’t accept a cricketers’ association

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali New Delhi, Dec 8 : When the Supreme Court on Wednesday hears a bunch of interlocutory applications in the Indian cricket reforms case, the Indian Railways’ application, seeking several reliefs, including permission for its (government) officials to attend meetings of the Indian cricket board, might not come up. But when it does come up, Railways would also have to deal with a new association of former Railways cricketers seeking to attend Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) meetings.
The Indian Railways Cricketers’ Association (IRCA) has registered itself under Section 10 of the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975 (Tamil Nadu Act 27 of 1975) in Chennai. IRCA has also written to the Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) to let its representative attend meetings of the BCCI. But the RSPB has flatly declined to entertain its plea, saying it patronises 29 sports disciplines and it can’t give special treatment to cricket and its former cricketers.
Former Railways players were encouraged to form the association after the Supreme Court approved a new constitution of the BCCI that says that only a representative elected by an association of former cricketers would be eligible to attend and vote at BCCI meetings. RSPB is contesting this rule (3)(E) of the constitution.
RSPB had filed an affidavit long ago, and had even fielded then Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi in 2017, when he had pleaded for a complete recall of the Supreme Court’s historic judgment of July 18, 2016, that called for reforms in Indian cricket. Rohatgi, in fact, represented the Services as well as the Association of Indian Universities, who all were also asked to nominate a player representative, similarly elected as the RSPB’s, for attending/voting at BCCI meetings.
RSPB’s application may come up for hearing only the next year, but for the time being it has to deal with IRCA.
On Tuesday, RSPB secretary Prem Chand Lochab outrightly rejected to acknowledge IRCA, saying that it has to treat all 29 sports disciplines fairly.