Former India fast-bowler Roger Binny could be in line to replace Sourav Ganguly as BCCI’s next chairman and apex council chief, said a report in the Times of India. Binny, who has served as a national selector previously within the board’s functionary, is one of the candidates in the race to bag the coveted post.
“Speculation around Binny, who has served as a national selector in the past, being a surprise candidate for the coveted post was triggered when the former India seamer’s name appeared on the BCCI’s Draft Electoral Rolls (put up on the BCCI website),”
reported the Times Of India.
Binny is one of the candidates whose name will be up for election as the board’s next president. He will be part of the BCCI’s much-awaited Annual General Meeting as a representative from the Karnataka State Cricket Association, having previously served KSCA in an administrative post.
As reported, the elections to finalise the next set of officials to be part of the board’s apex council will be determined via an online voting system. The candidates will be elected on October 18.
Pertinent to the same, TOI reported, the BCCI officials conducted a “crucial” and “lengthy” meeting in Delhi. The meeting also had veteran administrators of the past present in person to give their input, with the underlined motive being the identification of individuals to hold each of the top posts.
“Right now, things are a bit fluid. A top cabinet minister, whose word every one respects, will have the final say in this matter,”
a source privy to the development told TOI.
Apart from Binny, other big names part of the BCCI electoral rolls available on the board’s website are board’s current secretaries Jay Shah (Gujarat), Rajiv Shukla (UP) and Arun Dhumal (Himachal).
The list also includes Mohammed Azharuddin (Hyderabad), Jaydev Shah (Saurashtra), Adwait Manohar (Vidarbha), Pranav Amin (Baroda), and Rohan Jaitley (Delhi District Cricket Association), Ashish Shelar (Mumbai Cricket Association), former BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry (Haryana), Vaibhav Gehlot (Rajasthan).
Interestingly, the possibility of Binny getting elected as the next BCCI president arises not long after BCCI sought the abolishment of the cooling-off period and age-cap regulations in the BCCI constitution with the Supreme Court of India, which allowed Ganguly and Shah to continue in their posts.
As per the BCCI timeline set for the elections, the nominations can be filed till October 12. October 13 has been set as the date for scrutiny on each of the nominations, which can be withdrawn by October 14.
