The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been officially excluded from the Right to Information (RTI) Act under the newly revised Central Sports Bill, following strong resistance from the cricket body.
The original bill, presented in the Lok Sabha on July 23, sought to classify all national sports organizations, including BCCI, as public authorities, thereby subjecting them to greater transparency under the RTI Act. But after BCCI’s firm opposition, the government removed Clause 15(2) — the very clause that would have brought BCCI under the RTI umbrella.
The Ministry of Sports justified the revision, explaining that only bodies receiving substantial government aid qualify as public authorities. Since BCCI operates independently of government funding, the ministry stated it cannot be included under RTI laws.
Worth a staggering ₹18,760 crore, the BCCI is one of the wealthiest sports bodies globally, yet continues to remain outside the reach of public scrutiny, despite performing key public functions like team selection and managing international cricket tours.
While the move has sparked criticism from transparency advocates, it cements BCCI’s long-standing immunity from information disclosure laws, reinforcing its autonomous and powerful status in Indian sports governance.
