The Uttarakhand High Court has issued a notice to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) regarding multiple petitions seeking an investigation into the alleged misuse of government funds by the Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU). The petitions, filed by Dehradun resident Sanjay Rawat and others, highlight an external audit report of the CAU's 2024-25 accounts.
The petitioners have drawn attention to several alleged financial irregularities in the audit report. One of the most shocking claims is that the CAU listed an expenditure of ₹35 lakh on "bananas for players." In addition, the report showed that the association paid ₹6.4 crore for event management and spent a total of ₹26.3 crore on tournaments and trial expenses, a sharp increase from the previous financial year.
The petitions accuse the CAU of embezzling crores of rupees in the name of food and other player expenses. They allege that the association failed to provide promised facilities to state players, despite the massive expenditure. The High Court has taken cognizance of these serious allegations and has scheduled the next hearing for Friday.
This is not the first time the CAU has been under legal scrutiny recently. On September 5, the High Court heard another case regarding issues with the tender process for the upcoming Uttarakhand Premier League (UPL) 2025. A petition filed by former CAU vice-president Surendra Bhandari claimed that the contract was awarded to a single company without a fair bidding process.
Bhandari's petition also stated that the BCCI has provided the CAU with more than ₹22 crore in funding since its recognition in 2019. He alleged that this money, meant for developing cricket in the state, was instead diverted for the personal gains of officials.
