USA Cricket (USAC) is once again in legal hot water as current director Atul Rai, along with former directors Kuljit Nijjar, Arjun Gona, and Patricia Whittaker, have filed a lawsuit against the organization and its current leadership. The lawsuit, which names directors Venu Pisike, Srini Salver, Pintoo Shah, David Haubert, Nadia Gruny, and Anj Balusu, alleges serious governance issues.
Filed in Boulder County, Colorado, the lawsuit claims that USAC manipulated the membership registration system before upcoming elections. This manipulation allegedly aimed to disenfranchise certain voters and influence election results. The lawsuit also points to USAC’s failure to hold elections after the terms of Salver and Gruny expired and its non-compliance with US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) guidelines regarding athlete representation on the Athlete Advisory Committee.
This legal challenge is a significant setback for USA Cricket, which has been under pressure since the International Cricket Council (ICC) issued a suspension warning in July of last year. The ICC demanded that USAC resolve its internal issues within a year to maintain its membership. The USOPC has also criticized USAC for being too dysfunctional and distracted by internal conflicts to implement necessary reforms. Furthermore, the USOPC warned that USAC might not be automatically chosen as the national governing body for the LA Olympics if these governance problems persist. Such a scenario could lead to USAC’s expulsion from the ICC.
This lawsuit follows the termination of Nijjar, Whittaker, and Gona on February 15, after their initial suspension in July 2024. Their suspension reportedly stemmed from a letter criticizing Pisike and Salver for governance issues. Following these terminations, USAC announced elections to fill the director positions vacated by Nijjar and Gona, as well as the female independent director role previously held by Whittaker.
The plaintiffs are seeking the removal of the defendant directors from the USAC board and the reinstatement of Nijjar, Gona, and Whittaker. They are also requesting that the upcoming director elections be declared invalid.
