Former Delhi cricketer Mithun Manhas was officially appointed president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday in Mumbai. His appointment took place at the BCCI Annual General Meeting (AGM), and he was elected unopposed. He is the 37th BCCI president, succeeding Roger Binny, who resigned last month after turning 70.
Rajeev Shukla has been appointed vice president, Devajit Saikia was elected honorary secretary, and Prabhtej Singh Bhatia took the joint secretary role.
A Raghuram Bhat has been appointed BCCI’s treasurer. Meanwhile, Jaydev Niranjan Shah was appointed sole member of the Apex Council. Also, Arun Singh Dhumal and Khairul Jamal Majumdar were added to the Governing Council.
Former India cricketers RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha have also been added to the men’s selection committee. Meanwhile, Amita Sharma was also confirmed as chairperson of the women’s selection panel, replacing Neetu David. She represented India in 116 ODIs as a pacer and will be joined by Jaya Sharma, Shyama Dey and Sravanthi Naidu. They will begin their stint after the Women’s World Cup, which is being held in India and Sri Lanka from September 30-November 2.
Manhas is also the third consecutive former cricketer to become BCCI president, after Sourav Ganguly and Binny. In the past, he worked as the Director of Cricket for the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association. Manhas played 157 First-Class, 130 List A and 91 T20 matches in his domestic career from 1997-98 to 2016-17.
Former India player Harbhajan Singh, who attended the AGM as Punjab Cricket Association’s representative, called the Manhas’ appointment as ‘a good decision’. Speaking to PTI, he said, “When a cricketer heads a cricket body, his experience and other qualities help. It’s a good decision and it’s been happening for the last three terms which is a great thing for the cricketers as well for him to give something back to the game.”
“The BCCI has started this and there cannot be anything greater for any cricketer that he can also give something back. I’ve played a lot of cricket with Mithun since U19 days and I am very happy for him,” he added.
