MUMBAI: The Indian cricket board is alleged to have misled the Supreme Court appointee Lodha committee by hiding certain facts on global tender rights for the IPL, it is reliably learnt here.
According to the highly placed sources close to the BCCI, the last letter they have sent to the Lodha committee states that the Ten-year tender rights contract ended with the end of IPL season in May 2016, whereas the validity of the contract has one more year to go. The fact is the new contract is scheduled to begin with the IPL season in 2018.
“1) The BCCI has already declared the process of a global tender for the IPL rights, where the previous Ten-year rights contract ended with the end of IPL season May 2016, as it was mandated to do so by the expiring contract” in a letter dated 21.10.2016, the first paragraph reads.
The urgency of awarding the media rights one year before the expiry has come under the knowledge of the Lodha committee and a letter seeking clarification in this regard has been sent to the BCCI on Monday, it is also learnt here.
“Committee has 2 specific questions in this regard :-:
a. When did the previous Ten-year rights period come to an end?
b. When does the next Ten-year rights period commence?”, the Lodha committee letter, signed by Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Secretary, Supreme Court Committee & Advocate, Supreme Court of India has been sent to the BCCI president, secretary and CEO.
If the BCCI is unable to satisfy the Lodha committee, this goof-up, one more after the contradictory affidavits by Anurag Thakur and Prof. Ratnakar Shetty, will be brought to the notice of the Supreme Court.
