'Shocked and surprised': Devajit Saikia denies BCCI role in appointing Meghalaya official

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has denied the Board's involvement in appointing Meghalaya Cricket Association official Rayonald Kharkamni as convenor of the North East zone women's selection committee, saying the decision was taken by the state associations and not the national cricket body.

The appointment has drawn scrutiny as Kharkamni was suspended by the Meghalaya High Court after the Meghalaya State Commission for Women found him guilty of gross negligence in handling allegations of sexual harassment levelled by women's team players against former coach Hemant Roy and assistant manager S Mondal.

Kharkamni was appointed convenor of the selection panel for the Inter-Zonal Women's T20 tournament.

Reacting to reports suggesting that the BCCI had appointed the official despite the court's order, Saikia told PTI that zonal selection committee members and convenors were outside the Board's jurisdiction.

"BCCI's official stand is very clear. BCCI never appoints zonal selection committee members or zonal selection committee conveners. So, I am very shocked and surprised to see reports that BCCI has appointed someone who has been barred by the court and who has some serious charges with regards to women levelled against him," Saikia said.

He clarified that the responsibility for appointing zonal selection convenors rests with the state associations within the respective zones.

"The BCCI is not at the helm of affairs in appointing zonal conveners of any selection committee, whether it is men's or women's. So it is not BCCI who has appointed the person who is named in the media. It is rather that the state associations (Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland) that had appointed him," he said.

Saikia further said the BCCI had neither been consulted nor informed about Kharkamni's appointment, adding that the Board had no role in the internal decisions of state associations.

"We have verified it. He was appointed sometime on October 18. The meeting had taken place on November 5. BCCI is not privy to all those decisions. Neither can we interfere, nor can we advise. Neither are we informed about who is appointed where," he said.

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Holding the Meghalaya Cricket Association responsible for the appointment, Saikia said the state body should have acted on the High Court's order.

"So, in the case of this gentleman who is now barred by the Meghalaya High Court, he was appointed by the Meghalaya Cricket Association. And if he was barred by the High Court, it is the responsibility of the Meghalaya Cricket Association to withdraw him," said Saikia, who is also the Advocate General of Assam.

Explaining the selection process, Saikia said the BCCI follows different systems for appointing selectors for national and zonal tournaments. While national selectors have, at times, picked teams for competitions such as the Duleep Trophy, the zonal selection process involves state associations.

In women's cricket, state associations within a particular zone elect the convenor of the selection committee, he said.

"You are having various kinds of selection meetings going on for various zonal, and inter-zonal tournaments in men's section, and identically in the women's section also we have the zonal things," Saikia said.

"But the selectors as well as the conveners of those selection committees on a zonal basis are appointed by their respective state associations who are in that zone," he added. (With inputs from PTI)