Jay Shah, the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman, is likely to attend the special general meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Mumbai on Sunday as a “special invitee”.
The former secretary moved to the ICC last month and the SGM has been called to elect the BCCI’s new secretary and treasurer. Assam’s Devajit Saikia will take over as secretary while Prabhtej Singh Bhatia of Chhattisgarh State Cricket Association will replace Ashish Shelar as the new treasurer unopposed. Shelar had to vacate the post after joining the Maharashtra cabinet as a minister.
Saikia was recently appointed as interim secretary after BCCI president
Roger Binny exercised his special powers granted in the constitution.
Sources confirmed to The Telegraph that Shah will attend the SGM since there has been precedent of a former ICC chief being present at BCCI meetings. N. Srinivasan had attended such meetings when he was the ICC chairman in 2014-2015.
ICC rules, however, clearly state that the chairperson cannot be formally associated with any member association.
The BCCI constitution doesn’t mention anything specific in this regard and officials have utilised such lacuna in the rulebook to attend meetings.
Shah is also expected to be felicitated by the members for attaining the ICC position during the meeting.
While the SGM will be a formality, there could be some drama over Rajeev Shukla’s continuing as a vice-president after a petition was filed before the electoral officer. It has been alleged that Shukla should be disqualified from holding any post since he has exceeded his tenure of nine years at the BCCI.
“His participation in the SGM would violate Supreme Court directives, leading to potential legal challenges and invalidation of SGM decisions,” the petition states.
According to Rule 6(4) of the BCCI constitution, Shukla’s tenure as vice-president from 2004 to 2014 qualifies as an office-bearer’s role. This was followed by his current tenure, beginning December 18, 2020. Cumulatively, he has held various positions for over 10 years, the petition alleged.
The BCCI office-bearers are expected to discuss Team India’s performance in Australia during the course of the SGM. It is still not clear if there will be a formal meeting with the support staff and selection committee but the possibility cannot be ruled out.
The Cricket Association of Bengal will be represented by president Snehasish Ganguly. However, he will not have any voting powers since the association failed to send his name within the stipulated date.