The Supreme Court granted BCCI‘s request on Wednesday to eliminate the required cooling-off period between terms for office holders in state cricket associations and the BCCI, allowing Sourav Ganguly, the president of the cricket association, and Jay Shah, the secretary, to remain in their positions.

The cooling-off period will only be required of administrators only after two consecutive terms in office. State cricket associations will now be subject to the new regulation as well.

Also Read| Virat Kohli makes big move in T20 rankings, jumps to 15th

Hearing a BCCI petition to amend its constitution, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the BCCI is an autonomous body that the court cannot micromanage. It also questioned the country’s governing cricket body as to why it wants people over the age of 70 to represent the country at the ICC.

The top court had also stated that because “the aim of the cooling off time is that there should be no vested interest,” it would not be eliminated between the terms of office holders.

Also Read| President Droupadi Murmu to attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral

According to the BCCI’s constitution, an office bearer must serve a three-year cooling-off period between two consecutive terms in either the state association or the BCCI, or both. At the outset, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the BCCI, told a bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli that the game of cricket in India is significantly streamlined. He claimed that the Supreme Court had stated that when the bye-laws become operational, some changes could be made with the permission of the court.

He claimed that the Supreme Court had stated that when the bye-laws become operational, some changes could be made with the permission of the court.

Also Read| Why the Indian stock market fell today?

He stated that the BCCI is an autonomous body, and that all changes have been approved by the cricket body’s AGM. The bench stated during the submission that “BCCI is a self-governing organisation. We cannot micromanage its operation.”

In October 2019, Ganguly assumed leadership of the BCCI as its president. According to the current constitution, Ganguly’s office-holding term of six years expires in 2020.

In 2013, Shah was elected to the Gujarat Cricket Association’s board of directors. Six years later, he joined the BCCI as the organization’s secretary.