At the 94th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) held on Sunday at its headquarters in Mumbai, former Delhi captain Mithun Manhas was chosen president unopposed, along with other board members, including board secretary Devajit Saikia.
After former India cricketer Roger Binny retired from the position last month after reaching 70, 45-year-old Manhas became the 37th president of the all-powerful cricket organization.
Manhas is the third First-Class cricketer in a row to assume the role of board president, following Binny and former captain Sourav Ganguly.
The consensus choice came after an informal meeting of the Board’s power brokers in New Delhi earlier this month. The former all-rounder played in 157 First-Class, 130 List A, and 55 IPL matches between 1997-98 and 2016-17.
Manhas has amassed an outstanding total of 9714 first-class runs, including 27 hundreds and 4126 runs in List A games.
Additionally, Amita Sharma was confirmed by the AGM to take Neetu David’s place as chair of the women’s selection panel. Shyama Dey, Jaya Sharma, and Sravanthi Naidu will join the former India fast bowler, who participated in 116 One-Day Internationals. Following the women’s World Cup, which will take place in India and Sri Lanka from September 30 to November 2, they will start their term.
While former Tamil Nadu batsman S Sharath rejoined the junior selection committee, former India internationals RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha were inducted into the men’s selection panel.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, who was representing the Punjab Cricket Association at the AGM, praised Manhas’ election and said it was a good move to have a cricketer in charge of the Board’s operations.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Harbhajan added that he hoped Manhas will concentrate on bolstering the nation’s cricket infrastructure.
“I hope that those things which he (perhaps) didn’t get in terms of facilities as a cricketer or could not get to that point (in career), from whatever he has learnt so far in his life, he does such a job that no young cricketer is left behind due to lack of infrastructure,” he said.
“A lot of development is taking place across the country if we talk about it. New grounds are coming up in new places and cricket is going to smaller venues. The credit goes to the BCCI and I hope Mithun will carry forward the same legacy and does a great job.”
In addition, Harbhajan asked the BCCI to support relief efforts in Punjab and other northern Indian areas that have been devastated by floods.
