Rajeev Shukla likely to step up as acting BCCI president

Veteran cricket administrator and Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Shukla is likely to replace Roger Binny as the interim president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), as the latter turns 70 on Saturday.

According to the BCCI constitution, no person can hold any post after ‘he/she has attained the age of 70 years’. Thus, Binny, who had replaced Sourav Ganguly as the Board president in 2022, could step down from his role after crossing the age-limit threshold for a BCCI office-bearer.

Advertisement

As per convention, ‘the vice-president shall officiate in the president’s absence when the president is unavailable’, which means Shukla can take over as the interim BCCI president after Binny’s departure.

“The vice-president shall also exercise such functions and duties as he may be empowered by the General Body of the Apex Council,” says the Board’s rules.

If Shukla takes over as the acting BCCI president, he is likely to continue till September, when the elections for the next set of office-bearers are scheduled to take place in the board’s Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Shukla is a vastly experienced cricket administrator, having previously served as the chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL) from 2011-2017, before becoming BCCI vice-president in 2020 and being re-elected to the post in 2022.

Most recently, former Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) president CK Khanna had served as the acting BCCI president from 2017 to 2019 during the tenure of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators that governed the board for 33 months.

Meanwhile, Binny, a member of India’s 1983 ODI World Cup-winning team, was the president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association before taking charge of the world’s richest cricket board three years ago. Counted among the greats of the game, Binny later went on to coach the India Under-19 team that won the 2000 edition of the ICC World Cup for that age group.

In his playing career, Binny featured in 27 Tests and 72 ODIs from 1979 to 1987. He also served on the senior men’s selection committee.

During Binny’s tenure as BCCI president, some of the standout achievements included the successful launch of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) and the Indian men’s team clinching the 2024 T20 World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy. His presidency also saw the implementation of a key policy requiring players to participate in domestic cricket when not on national duty.