When the Supreme Court permitted the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s office bearers to run for back-to-back 3-year terms last month, Justice Lodha – his reforms were effectively undone – had commented that ‘BCCI was waiting for the weather to change’.
That the weather had changed was evident in a high-profile midnight meeting that the current set of BCCI office bearers had in Delhi on Thursday. All involved were positive that the next set of BCCI officials would be decided by consensus to avoid elections at the BCCI AGM on October 18. But not everyone was ruling out a repeat of the photo-finish for the top post, the kind which saw Sourav Ganguly take the chair in 2019 at the eleventh hour, brushing past the more-fancied fellow cricketer Brijesh Patel.
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Amongst the possibilities discussed for the post of BCCI president was for secretary Jay Shah to get a promotion. But another name on the discussion table that came as a surprise to many was that of 1983 World Cup winner Roger Binny. The 67-year-old is currently president of Karnataka State Cricket Association, the same state body that outgoing IPL chairman Brijesh Patel represents.
Ganguly was present at Thursday’s meeting and his name is being tipped as the next chairman of International Cricket Council (ICC). “Ganguly being replaced by Binny, ‘a cricketer-for-another-cricketer’ is the kind of optics the BCCI may be keen to present to the outer world,” a former board official said.
But there’s no guarantee that the former India captain will win the ICC polls – elections are slated in November and October 20 is the last date to file nominations – should he contest. Sources believe Ganguly may ask for full BCCI backing to prevail at the 16-member ICC board, for him to relinquish the top post in Indian cricket.
The next few days are expected to be eventful in deciding the course of Indian cricket administration and of BCCI’s quest to retain clout in the world game. October 12 is the last date to file nominations for BCCI elections. Other than Shah, treasurer Arun Dhumal and vice-president Rajiv Shukla are in the running to get key posts again.
Zonal equations will again reign supreme when all posts are finalised. If Ganguly moves out, Assam Cricket Association secretary Devajit Saikia is tipped to be nominated for one of the BCCI posts.
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