With Jay Shah taking over as International Cricket Council’s youngest chairman on December 1, the role of secretary in the mighty BCCI lies vacant. As officials wonder who the replacement might be, they have time to figure out the next course of action.
Following the constitutional amendment in 2022, the secretary is the most influential office-bearer in the BCCI, having “all powers in relation to cricketing and non-cricketing matters.” The CEO works under his supervision.
Shah was elected unopposed for the ICC top position in August, and the stakeholders have been wondering how the transition process will take place.
Gujarat’s Anil Patel and current BCCI joint secretary Devjit Saikia could replace Shah in the BCCI. The name of DDCA president Rohan Jaitley was also floated but remained just speculation.
“We don’t know what is happening. Everyone (BCCI officials and state units) is quiet on the matter. Most likely joint secretary (Saikia) will be interim for the time being,” said a BCCI administrator.
“There are issues that need to be dealt with on a day to day basis and anyone who comes in, needs to have a bit of knowledge on how the BCCI is run,” he added.
When an elected office-bearer resigns, the board has 45 days to call a Special General Meeting and choose his successor.
If one calculates the 45 days from the day Shah took charge of ICC, the board has until mid-January to fill the position.
The BCCI also needs to appoint an electoral officer at least four weeks prior to the election, as per the constitution.
A senior state unit official said the board has ample time to complete the transition.
“Transition should have been complete by now. The secretary has to sign majority of documents. This matter should have been taken up at the AGM (in September) but nobody questioned at that time,” said the official.
“There is a power vacuum right now at the BCCI, the most powerful cricketing body in the world,” added another office-bearer of a state unit.
The current three-year term of officer-bearers ends in September next year, so the incoming secretary will be in charge for close to one year.
There is also no word yet on who the new BCCI representative on the ICC board will be. Shah held that position, too, and Board president Roger Binny is on the list of alternate directors.
IPL chairman Arun Dhumal is India’s representative in the ICC’s Chief Executives’ Committee.