Bishan Singh Bedi: Justice Lodha deserves highest national award

Bishan Singh Bedi, no stranger to battles with cricket administration, was delighted at the Supreme Court's acceptance of the Lodha Committee recommendations to clean up Indian cricket.

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Bishan Singh Bedi

Yet, he said, there was no winner apart from the game of cricket itself. "I would accept this verdict gracefully and humbly. There is no need to shout through the roof. There is no individual winner. The winner is cricket," Bedi told mid-day from Delhi.

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He added: "Today is a very auspicious day for Indian sports, not only cricket. This verdict will also open the doors of transparency in other sports federations. I feel Justice Lodha deserves the highest national award for his efforts. It has been tremendous and remarkable. His work has been in-depth and my heart reaches out to him. No cricketer or cricket administrator could do what he has done," said Bedi.

RM Lodha. PIC/AFP

Cleaner game
The former India captain was convinced that the writing was on the wall for the BCCI as soon as Lodha and his team began work on cleaning up Indian cricket. "The game now will be nice and free of official hang-ups," Bedi predicted.

Also Read: How the Supreme Court came to order reforms in BCCI. here's the timeline.

Bedi recently backed every move to clean up his home association - the Delhi & District Cricket Association - against whom he has clashed often over several years.