BCCI AGM: Roger Binny to be elected 36th BCCI president, but questions remain on ICC chairmanship

PTI

Mumbai, October 17

The issue of ICC chairmanship will be up for discussion when the BCCI holds it Annual General Meeting (AGM), where former India cricketer Roger Binny will replace Sourav Ganguly as the new Board President here on Tuesday.

The election of the next set of office-bearers will be a mere formality as all are set to be elected unopposed. However, the member will deliberate if BCCI should field a candidate for the ICC chair or support incumbent Greg Barclay for a second term.

The last date for filing the nominations for the ICC top job is October 20. The ICC Board will meet from November 11-13 in Melbourne.

The much-debated exit of Ganguly from the BCCI has already garnered attention not just in sporting but in political arena too and it will be interesting to see if the former skipper is considered for the top job.

The other names doing the rounds include Sports Minister Anurag Thakur and former BCCI president N Srinivasan.

Srinivasan is eligible to contest but it remains to be seen if BCCI wants him to throw his hat in the ring, considering his age. He is 78.

Thakur is expected to be busy during the ICC Board meet as Himachal Pradesh is going to polls in a single phase on November 12.

New office-bearers

Binny will replace Ganguly as the BCCI chief with the latter set to return to his home state association CAB as the president for a second term.

The other BCCI office-bearers, who will be elected unanimously include secretary Jay Shah, Ashish Shelar (treasurer), Rajeev Shukla (vice-president) and Devajit Saikia (join secretary). Outgoing treasurer Arun Dhumal will be the new IPL chairman.

“It is almost certain that Jay will be India’s representative at ICC Board meeting. But members need to decide if we want someone to become the ICC chairman or let Greg Barclay of New Zealand complete his second and final term,” a senior BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

ICA representatives

As per the agenda of the 91st AGM, there will be induction of two representatives of Indian Cricketers’ Association on the BCCI Apex Council to replace Anshuman Gaikwad and Shantha Rangaswamy.

However, they will only be elected at ICA election from October 27-29.

Current ICA president Ashok Malhotra and former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar are contesting to be the associations male representative on the BCCI Apex Council.

Dhumal will chair the newly formed IPL governing council after the BCCI AGM on Tuesday. The date of the IPL auction will be decided while there will also be a discussion on the inaugural WIPL, which the Board plans to conduct before the IPL in March.

Five teams will be part of the league initially but how they will be sold could be decided on Tuesday. The BCCI could sell the teams city wise based on zones or to big cities with a solid fan base.

There will also be a discussion on the tax liability for the ODI World Cup in India next year. India could lose up to Rs 955 crore if the central government doesn’t exempt the tax surcharge on ICC for hosting the event in India.