BCCI president: Speculation mounts as Tendulkar officially says no

The plot thickens over who will be the next BCCI president with the Little Master Sachin Tendulkar putting an end to talks linking him with the role of next president of the Indian cricket board (BCCI). A media report sometime back had insinuated, with naming him, that a legendary cricketer has been ‘approached’ for the role but a denial from his management group has ended the speculation for all practical purposes.

A statement from SRT Sports Management Private Limited on Thursday evening says: “It has come to our attention that certain reports and rumours have been circulating regarding Mr Sachin Tendulkar being considered, or nominated, for the position of President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). We wish to state categorically that no such development has taken place.’’

The high stakes BCCI AGM which has – among other things on it’s agenda - election for the posts of president, vice-president, secretary, joint secretary and treasurer will be held on 28 September. The post of the president garners most eyeballs and it will be no different this time with Roger Binny, a key member of the 1983 World Cup winning team, stepping down after completing his three-year tenure once he turned 70 in July. The recommendations of Justice RM Lodha Committee, which still governs the BCCI and it’s state bodies, has 70 as the cut-off date and Vice President Rajeev Shukla has now stepped in as the interim president.  

The denial from the Tendulkar camp, however, will only heighten the suspense over the next choice after two decorated former cricketers: Sourav Ganguly (2019-22) and Binny (2022-25) held offices for the last two terms. The names of a number of former Indian stalwarts may be doing the rounds, but a clear picture could be ascertained after today (12 September) when the deadline ends for the BCCI affiliate members to submit names of their respresentatives attending the AGM.

Speaking to National Herald, a BCCI source confided that while the Lodha Committee’s recommendations did not specify that only former internationals can be eligible for the president’s post, it had been a diktat of sorts from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to have former athletes of repute occupying the top posts. This explains a series of appointments in recent years like P.T.Usha (IOA), Dilip Tirkey (Hockey India) or Kalyan Chaubey (football). ‘’However, it will be presumptious to draw any conclusion from the list of state body nominees alone as the choice of a BCCI chief has to have a buy-in from the powers that-be,’’ the sources said.

Interestingly, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has confirmed Ganguly’s name as their representative in the AGM – who is a certainty to stage a comeback as his state body president on 22 September. This has given rise to speculation in the regional media if Dada gets a chance for a second innings, but it’s rather premature to talk about such possibilities unless the wind starts to blow in another direction ahead of the AGM.

The history of BCCI AGMs have been replete with them – including the one in 2019 when Ganguly emerged as the dark horse after Brijesh Patel’s name had been doing the rounds all along. There is a distinct possibility that Shukla, BCCI’s man for all seasons, may continue as the supremo for a shorter term till a final decision is arrived at.

Meanwhile, current incumbents Devojit Saikia, Rohan Desai and Prabhtej Singh Bhatia are likely to continue as the secretary, joint secretary and treasurer, respectively while there is a great deal of interest about replacement of Arun Dhumal – who will go to a cooling off period after completing two terms.