Jay Shah stepped down as Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on November 30 to assume leadership of the International Cricket Council (ICC) from December 1. The 36-year-old cricket administrator had been serving as BCCI Secretary since 2019.
The BCCI has announced a Special General Meeting (SGM) to be held at its headquarters on January 12, 2025 to elect a new secretary and treasurer, as reported by media sources on December 20.
There are no clear frontrunners for the position of BCCI secretary as of now. However, Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) secretary Anil Patel is considered a potential dark horse in the race.
According to BCCI regulations, the board has 45 days to convene an SGM and elect a successor once an office-bearer resigns. This timeline requires the secretary’s position to be filled by January 15, 2025.
The vacant treasurer position will also be addressed during the SGM, following Ashish Shelar’s departure to assume a cabinet ministerial role in the Maharashtra government. Per the BCCI constitution, ministers are ineligible to hold office-bearer roles within the organisation.
Following Shah’s unopposed election as ICC chairman in August 2024, Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) president Rohan Jaitley and IPL chairman Arun Dhumal have emerged as favourites to succeed him at the BCCI.
The secretary’s role in the BCCI is considered the second most powerful position after the president. Responsibilities include signing contracts, managing correspondence on behalf of the BCCI, and defending or taking action on behalf of office-bearers and employees.
Before Jay Shah, the post was held by Amitabh Choudhary from 2017 to 2019. Prominent names such as Anurag Thakur, N. Srinivasan, Niranjan Shah, Jagmohan Dalmiya, M. Chinnaswamy and Anthony de Mello have also served as BCCI secretaries, underlining its importance in Indian cricket administration.
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