MUMBAI: Will India's 1983 World Cup hero Roger Binny succeed Sourav Ganguly as the next BCCI president?
Speculation around Binny, who has served as a national selector in the past, being a surprise candidate for the coveted post was triggered when the former India seamer's name appeared on the BCCI's Draft Electoral Rolls (put up on the BCCI website) for the October 18 elections and the Annual General Meeting as a representative of the Karnataka State Cricket Association on Thursday. In the past, KSCA were represented by their secretary Santosh Menon in the Board AGM of the Board. The elections will be held here on October 18.
It's learnt that on Thursday night in Delhi, a crucial, lengthy meeting, attended by current BCCI office-bearers and a few veteran administrators of the past, took place to decide on the posts of the office-bearers of the Board. "Right now, things are a bit fluid. A top cabinet minister, whose word every one respects, will have the final say in this matter," a source told TOI.
There is also buzz that Ganguly could be appointed as India's representative for the International Cricket Council chairman's post, while Jay Shah could continue in his present role as the BCCI secretary.
Interestingly, Ganguly will represent the Cricket Association of Bengal, instead of CAB president Avishek Dalmiya, which rules out the possibility of the former BCCI chief's son to take up atop post in the Board.
Among other significant names in the rolls are Jay Shah (Gujarat), Arun Dhumal (Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association, Rajiv Shukla (Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association), Ashish Shelar (Mumbai Cricket Association), former BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry (Haryana), Vaibhav Gehlot (Rajasthan), Mohammed Azharuddin (Hyderabad), Jaydev Shah (Saurashtra), Adwait Manohar (Vidarbha), Pranav Amin (Baroda), and Rohan Jaitley (Delhi District Cricket Association).
As per the election timeline, the nominations can be filed on October 11 and 12, the scrutiny of the nominations will take place on October 13 and the candidates can withdraw their nominations latest by October 14.