The hunt for a candidate to succeed Jay Shah, the former secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), as chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) grew more intense. Several names have emerged to fill the coveted job of Treasurer on the apex Indian board, which is also open at the moment.
For the positions of Treasurer and Secretary, respectively, Devjit Saikia and Prabhtej Singh Bhatia are expected to be elected without opposition.
It is important to remember that Mumbai will have elections for the same position on January 12. There have been rumours that the election is really a formality and that the two will be appointed to the roles. Interestingly, the deadline for submitting candidates was January 4.
On January 4, according to, Saikia and Bhatia submitted their nomination papers to the BCCI office. In order to have the general body’s formal sanction to pick the candidates, BCCI has called a Special General Meeting (SGM) for January 12, the day of the election. For this reason, AK Joti, a former Chief Election Commissioner of India, has been designated as the by-election’s electoral officer and will serve as its supervisor.
Speaking of the two, Saikia is currently the board’s joint secretary and a member of the Assam Cricket Association. Saikia has served as the ICC’s acting secretary since Jay Shah started his position there.
Bhatia, however, hails from the Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh. In addition, he is the association’s official nominee for the SGM. After serving as the Treasurer of the BCCI, Ashish Shelar joined the Maharashtra government. A minister or government official is not eligible to serve as an office-bearer, per the stringent requirements of the BCCI. As a result, Bhatia is a strong candidate to succeed Shelar in the position.
India
