Veteran administrator Rajeev Shukla is set to become the interim president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), taking over from former India cricketer and incumbent Roger Binny, who will have to vacate the post due to an age-cap rule.
Binny will turn 70 on July 19, which will trigger the BCCI’s age-limit clause. According to the board’s constitution, no person can hold any post after ‘he/she has attained the age of 70 years’.
The rules further state that ’the vice-president shall officiate in the president’s absence when the president is unavailable’, thus paving the way for Shukla to take over as the interim president. “The vice-president shall also exercise such functions and duties as he may be empowered by the General Body of the Apex Council,” the BCCI rules read.
Shukla’s term as the president is likely to continue till September when the elections for the next set of BCCI office-bearers are scheduled to take place.
The BCCI witnessed a similar situation last year when Jay Shah was elected as the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) chairman. Consequently, he had to leave his post as the BCCI secretary. Devajit Sakia, who was joint secretary then, took over as interim secretary till the board had called for secretary’s election.
Shukla, a Congress Rajya Sabha MP, is a long-time cricket administrator. The journalist-turned-politician is seen as the cricket board’s man for all seasons. The 65-year-old was the IPL commissioner from 2011 to 2017. In 2020, Shukla was elected as the BCCI vice-president unopposed and re-elected to the post in 2022.