Members of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) who were present at the 93rd Annual General Meeting in Bengaluru on Sunday, have reportedly requested incumbent secretary Jay Shah to expedite the process of appointing his successor to keep the transfer of power as smooth as possible.
Shah, elected unopposed to the post of independent chair of the International Cricket Council (ICC) last month, will assume office for a three-year term on December 1.
He will therefore be expected to step down as BCCI secretary in the last week of November.
The appointment of Shah’s successor was not on the agenda for Sunday’s AGM, but those who attended the meeting were reportedly discussing the succession plan amongst themselves to keep the procedure open.
Rohan Jaitley, president of Delhi and District Cricket Association, BCCI treasurer Ashish Shelar, joint secretary Devajit Saikia and Gujarat Cricket Association secretary Anil Patel are reportedly the candidates in the fray to succeed Shah.
With no secretary election on agenda, the primary focal point of the AGM was the nomination of two representatives of India to the ICC meetings.
Currently, Shah is BCCI’s representative on the ICC Board and IPL chairman Arun Dhumal is in the Chief Executives’ Committee.
The AGM entrusted the general body members to recommend two names soon for the posts – director and alternate director – as the ICC has also scheduled a conclave in Dubai right after the final of the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup.
Meanwhile, Dhumal and Avishek Dalmiya were elected to the IPL Governing Council as general body representatives with the former all set to continue as the league’s chairman at least till 2025.
Duleep Trophy to return to zonal format
The Duleep Trophy is set to return to its traditional zonal from next year after the state units gave a thumbs down to the four-team concept introduced this season.
Per the old format, six teams from as many zones – central, east, west, north, south and north east – take part in the tournament, providing more opportunities to the players from their respective zones.
“The state units felt the format used this season did not give a fair representation to the players from their respective zones. The traditional zonal format gives players more opportunities zone wise and that is what was conveyed in the AGM today,” a state unit official told PTI after the BCCI AGM in Bengaluru.
