How an unopposed new BCCI administration took shape around Mithun Manhas

After filing their nominations on Sunday afternoon, all the incoming office-bearers of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) flew en masse to Ahmedabad, the new unofficial headquarters of Indian cricket. Word is that a meeting-cum-get-together has been planned for Sunday night at a five-star hotel in the city. "There is no formal agenda as such; it will just be an informal meeting," a source revealed.

Among those who left for Ahmedabad were newly selected president-designate Mithun Manhas, treasurer-elect Raghuram Bhat, secretary Devajit Saikia, joint secretary-elect Prabhtej Bhatia, and IPL chairman Arun Singh Dhumal, among others. It is evident that Jay Shah, the former BCCI secretary and current chair of the International Cricket Council (ICC), is expected to play host.

The gathering will be the third in less than 24 hours. The first was held on Saturday evening at a Delhi hotel, attended by current officials, a few former ones, select BCCI members, and some 'seniors'. After that meeting, the group proceeded to a second engagement - an audience with a senior Central minister, who congratulated them and wished them well for their stint. That meeting lasted about 30 minutes late Saturday night. The third gathering is scheduled for Sunday night.

There have been varying accounts of how Manhas (45) was chosen, with many describing his selection for the top post as coming out of nowhere. The general belief is that BCCI members wanted a former player as president, but among the AGM attendees, only a handful qualified for that criterion - Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, Raghuram Bhatt, Jaydev Shah, and Manhas. For the record, Saikia is also a former first-class cricketer from Assam.

Ganguly and Harbhajan, both with more than 100 Tests to their name, were not considered because of their multiple commercial commitments or commentary contracts. Bhat (67), who played two Tests in the 1980s, was ruled out as he comes from the same state as outgoing president Roger Binny. It was felt that having two successive presidents from Karnataka would not be ideal. That left only Manhas and Jaydev Shah in contention. Manhas was picked because there was a feeling that Jammu and Kashmir has not had much representation in the BCCI. "His cricketing background has helped," Rajeev Shukla said of Manhas's choice. Once Manhas' name was finalised for the top post, Shah was chosen as the lone representative from the general body to the Apex Council.

The second version suggests that there was little debate over Manhas' appointment - it was simply a decision. Whatever the truth, the fact remains that Manhas is the biggest gainer from the reshuffle, along with Bhat. The major losers are Rohan Gauns Dessai, the outgoing joint secretary, and Avishek Dalmiya. Dessai was overlooked after his panel lost the recent Goa Cricket Association election. Dalmiya's exclusion, however, is somewhat surprising. He was a member of the IPL Governing Council from the general body. The position has now been given to Mamon Majumdar of Mizoram.

"There has traditionally been a system of distributing posts among different regions. The North-East had to be represented in the BCCI, which is why Majumdar was picked for the IPL Governing Council. With Dhumal retained, there was no scope to accommodate Dalmiya," said a source familiar with the developments. There were also discussions about Delhi's Rohan Jaitley, son of former BCCI strongman Arun Jaitley, but the consensus was that his turn will come. He will have to wait, he was told.

This has been a rare show of unity among the BCCI mandarins. Never before has Indian cricket appeared so tightly knit and strongly aligned. For the third consecutive time since 2019, when Jay Shah first became secretary, there will be no contest for any BCCI post. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is understood to have played a crucial role in forging this unity, along with Jay Shah. All office-bearers will be elected unopposed at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Mumbai on Sunday.

Office-bearers-elect

• President: Mithun Manhas (J&K)

• Vice-president: Rajeev Shukla (UP)

• Secretary: Devajit Saikia (Assam)

• Joint secretary: Prabhtej Singh Bhatia (Chhattisgarh)

• Treasurer: Raghuram Bhat (Karnataka)

• IPL chairman: Arun Singh Dhumal (HP)

• IPL GC member: Mamon Majumdar (Mizoram)

• Apex Council Member: Jaydev Shah (Saurashtra)