Thakur has made it clear that “there is no question of perjury and I have not lied”
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Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Anurag Thakur has insisted that he did not commit perjury by lying under oath to the Supreme Court.
In October, Thakur submitted an affidavit denying that asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) whether having a member of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office to observe and oversee the board’s business operations would be seen as government interference.
However, ICC chairman Shashank Manohar wrote to the Lodha committee claiming that Thakur had indeed asked the governing body about whether the BCCI would be suspended if the ICC found evidence of government interference. As a result, the Supreme Court stated that Thakur had committed perjury, but the BCCI president has hit back, saying that “there is no question of perjury and I have not lied.”
Thakur also revealed that the board has not been able to get in contact with the Lodha committee “for the last two months” to voice their concerns about implementing a few of their recommendations.
“The matter is sub judice and I have full faith in the Indian judicial system,” he said. “We have called meetings time and again to implement justice Lodha committee recommendations. More than 85 per cent recommendations have been implemented.
“The members do not agree to implement three-four recommendations as they are not practical. To convey this, we sought time but the committee is not giving us time for the last two months.”
Thakur also pointed out that Indian cricket enjoyed a lot of success before the recommendations made by the Lodha committee.
“Before the recommendations, we have brought many reforms in the BCCI which is the best run organisation in the world today,” he added. “Our teams have performed well in so many tournaments.
“We are the number one team in Tests, number two in T20s and number three in ODIs. Look at the performance of our junior team where they have finals of the Asia Cup. Our women’s team has won the women’s Asia Cup. So where are shortcomings? Pressure is being created unnecessarily on us.”