New Delhi: Former Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Vinod Rai, who will head the Supreme Court-appointed four-member panel of administrators, called himself a "night-watchman" on Monday, whose only job will be to ensure a "smooth transition" to an elected body in Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The Supreme Court on Monday appointed a four-member committee of administrators to run the affairs of the BCCI and implement the court-approved recommendations of the Justice R M Lodha panel.
The other three members of the committee are famous historian and scholar Ramachandra Guha, Vikram Limaye (managing director of Infrastructure Development Finance Company) and former Indian women cricket captain Diana Edulji, who would interact with BCCI CEO Rahul Johri for supervision and smooth functioning of the BCCI.
Asked about his new role, Rai said: "Any such honour from the Supreme Court, one will have to accept and try to put in his best of abilities. I am a true lover of the game of cricket. My role is that of a night-watchman in a sense that we need to put in place good governance, good system and structure in place to ensure a smooth transition to an elected body which in future will bring about good administration in BCCI," he said.
"The game deserves it (good governance), the players deserve it and public at large, who are so fond of the game."
Widely considered as symbol of the anti-corruption movement in India, Rai said cricket needs good governance but he will be in a position to comment on the BCCI only after resuming his duties.
"It's too early to comment on anything at the moment because I am not familiar and have no exposure to the functions of BCCI. But any institution must conform to good governance," Rai said.
Asked how long it will take for him and his team to put BCCI's house in order and declare elections, Rai said: "I have no idea at all. I can only say something when I have some idea.
"Not just that, we also need to study the Lodha committee report in detail and get familiar with each and every aspect of the report," Rai added.
"We want to exit at the earliest...we want to entrust the responsibility to a duly elected body at the earliest."
The current panel is expected to stay on till newly-elected members come in. They will have to submit a status report to the Supreme Court by March 27, the date of the next hearing.
Limaye also said that the committee will be aiming to ensure "better governance" in BCCI while understanding the "philosophy" of how things worked in the board till now.
"Yes, my consent was taken and I consider it a huge honour to be considered worthy of this role by the Supreme Court of India.
"I take up the responsibility with utmost seriousness and will be working to ensure better governance in the BCCI," Limaye said.
An alumni of the world famous Wharton School of Business, Limaye said that he would like to speak to his colleagues in BCCI (joint secretary Amitabh Choudhary and treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhry) to understand its position in the International Cricket Council's board meeting.
"I will not like to comment on anything that I am unaware of. This is my first foray into cricket administration. Obviously, I will speak to my colleagues in the BCCI, understand the philosophy of the Board and also analyse and view the circumstances of the past.
"It will be very premature to make any comments without getting into the details of the matter," said Limaye, who will be in Dubai for the ICC meeting on February 2.
"I have just exchanged a text message with Mr (Ramachandra) Guha. Will have a detailed discussion with him. One part of our job will be to implement the reforms of the Justice Lodha panel.
