With Jay Shah taking over as International Cricket Council's youngest chairman on December 1, the role of secretary in the mighty BCCI lies vacant and as officials wonder who the replacement might be, they have time to figure out the next course of action. Following the constitutional amendment in 2022, the secretary is the most influential office-bearer in the BCCI, having "all powers in relation to cricketing and non-cricketing matters" with the CEO working under his supervision. Shah was elected unopposed for the ICC top position in August and the stakeholders have been wondering ever since how the transition process will take place.
Gujarat's Anil Patel and current BCCI joint secretary Devjit Saikia could replace Shah in the BCCI. The name of DDCA president Rohan Jaitley was also floated but remained just speculation.
"We don't know what is happening. Everyone (BCCI officials and state units) is quiet on the matter. Most likely joint secretary (Saikia) will be interim for the time being," said a BCCI administrator.
"There are issues that need to be dealt with on a day to day basis and anyone who comes in, needs to have a bit of knowledge on how the BCCI is run," he added.
From the time an elected office-bearer resigns, the board has 45 days to call for a Special General Meeting and choose his successor.
If one calculates the 45 days from the day Shah took charge of ICC, the board has time till mid-January to fill up the position.
The BCCI also needs to appoint an electoral officer at least four weeks prior to the election, as per the constitution.
A senior state unit official said the board has ample time to complete the transition.
"Transition should have been complete by now. The secretary has to sign majority of
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