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Venkatesh Prasad, Vinay Mruthyunjaya, and Shanta Rangaswamy urge KSCA to hold overdue elections after resignations and chaos, criticizing misuse of by-laws.
Former Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad (Instagram)
Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad on Monday urged the incumbent administrators of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) to conduct elections rather than use peripheral clauses in the by-laws to delay proceedings.
Prasad, along with seasoned administrator Vinay Mruthyunjaya and former Indian women’s cricket team captain Shanta Rangaswamy, emphasized that elections should be initiated promptly to avoid the ongoing state of chaos in the association.
“We have all been waiting for the announcement of the election. It should have happened long ago, and by now, a new committee should have taken over the running of the association,” Prasad stated during a select media gathering.
“According to the rule and the KSCA by-law, the election was supposed to be held before 30th September. I believe it’s high time for the current KSCA administrators to call for an election,” he added.
The tenure of the current regime, led by BCCI treasurer Raghuram Bhatt, ended on September 30, but a definite date for the election has yet to be announced, although it is speculated that the polls might be conducted either in October or November.
KSCA secretary A Shankar and treasurer ES Jairam resigned, taking moral responsibility for the stampede near Chinnaswamy Stadium following Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s victory in the IPL 2025. The tragic incident resulted in 11 fan fatalities and several injuries.
“There is no secretary, no president as he has moved to the BCCI, no treasurer, or even a vice president. Therefore, it’s imperative they announce the election dates. In fact, there’s a rule specifying that vacancies must be filled within 45 days. This has not happened, and it has been five months since they resigned. The president has not been in position for the last 30 days. The cricket season has begun, and we don’t know who is running the association or approving bills because they lack authority,” said Mruthyunjaya.
Prasad, who will be contesting in the elections, remarked that the entire episode has tarnished KSCA’s image in cricketing circles.
“I think it’s crucial for us to put more pressure on them to call for elections. It’s high time and important. At one stage, KSCA was highly regarded by all associations, but now it’s ridiculed. Even the Women’s World Cup matches were taken away from us. As a cricketer, it hurts me,” Prasad expressed.
Prasad and Mruthyunjaya criticised the current administrators for using the nine-year clause to reject some contestants’ nominations from their panel.
“I understand that the managing committee is misinterpreting the bylaws to disqualify a few capable administrators through the nine-year rule, which didn’t apply to many of them,” said Mruthyunjaya.
The KSCA by-law states that an administrator can serve nine years in the BCCI and nine years in the state association, as these roles are mutually exclusive.
“As per the Lodha Committee’s original recommendation, there was a restriction after nine years. However, on 20th September 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that the nine-year rule would not apply to someone who has completed nine years in a state association’s managing committee. This benefit is exclusive to state associations, not the BCCI,” Mruthyunjaya elaborated.
“In my opinion, nothing has adversely affected the current by-laws as there have been no additional orders from the Supreme Court. They even conducted an election for the vice-president (K Sriram), who completed nine years. So how can there be a new interpretation now?” he concluded.
(With PTI Inputs)
A cricket enthusiast whose dreams of playing for India paved the way for a compelling journey in journalism. With a comprehensive coverage spanning international and domestic cricket across formats, I have had …Read More
A cricket enthusiast whose dreams of playing for India paved the way for a compelling journey in journalism. With a comprehensive coverage spanning international and domestic cricket across formats, I have had … Read More
October 27, 2025, 21:51 IST
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