Former USA captain Sushil Nadkarni claims there was a conspiracy behind the disqualification of his re-election

After 21 cosigners, including league presidents and former and current board executives, made public a chastising letter addressed to the board and the International Cricket Board, USA Cricket may find itself entangled in a new legal tussle. 

The letter calls into question Vincent Adam's appointment as chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee (NGC), as well as the committee's following blatant misgovernance and misuse of authority. The letter went on to detail the NGC's dubious decisions, such as the 'unconstitutional' appointment of Patricia Whitaker as an independent director, the disqualification of current board member and former captain Sushil Nadkarni from re-election, and the exclusion of former cricketers from the male player director election.

The BOD inducted Adams into the NGC as soon as Atul Rai claimed  the chairperson of the board. The letter also discloses how Adams approved the exclusion of notable administrators such as Syed Shahnawaz, Ajith Bhasker (previous Club director), and Sushil Nadkarni (current league director) on technical reasons such as failure to provide a resume

According to reports, Bhaskar submitted a resume for the League Director's role but afterwards sought to withdraw and compete for the individual director's position before the deadline. The NGC first rejected his candidature, citing "better prospects" that had submitted for the League director position. When Bhaskar asked further, the NGC gave him a disqualification email for failing to submit a CV for the post of League Director.

"The previous NGC headed by Jagan Jagannathan used to work with candidates and bridge any real gaps that would exist in their application," Nadkarni said. "But what NGC is doing is unfair and petty while it does not serve the primary purpose of running a process to identify the best candidates to serve on the USA cricket board."

"Adams is there on the cricket committee with me, I know him and he knows me too, if he had a problem with me submitting my LinkedIn page as a form of resume, I was only an email or text away to resubmit it. They are disrespecting a former captain of the national team and making a mockery of the process," Nadkarni added.

The suggestion and subsequent appointment of Patricia Whitaker as an independent director raises major concerns about the NGC's competence, as Whitaker is unable to serve as an independent director on the board due to her engagement as a USAC selector as recently as 2021. The appointment is clearly in violation of USAC constitution clause 7.5 (B) (c) (d), which precludes anyone from running for independent director if they had previously been involved in cricket in any capacity.

It is noteworthy that a media report just before the 2022 board elections in July (when Adams was not on the NGC) leaked an email from Adams in which he called the previous administration's behaviour "dishonourable and unprincipled," and further stated that some board officials were a compromised bunch who stayed silent for small perks. Ironically, things haven't changed much since Adam's charge and left a lot to be desired.

Another important claim raised in the letter is the disenfranchisement of a select players from the impending male player director job. It is believed that at least eight players, including Jannisar Khan, Mohammad Ghous, and Yasir Mohammad, have been prevented from participating in the player director election. The letter also calls into doubt Nisarg Patel's legality as a member of the NGC, alleging a breach of USAC Constitution section 9.5 (A) because Patel is also a paid employee/contractor as a player.

The cosigners have threatened legal action against the board and have requested that the NGC be reformed and any previous 'improper' decisions be reversed. Already in severe financial distress, with employees and contractors going unpaid for months, and the withdrawal of a major sponsor in Sistar Mortgage, this new legal squabble will only exacerbate the crisis for a board that failed to host their men's national championship in 2022 and is unable to deliver new contracts for 2023.