Mithun Manhas elected new BCCI president

Mumbai: Former Delhi captain Mithun Manhas was on Sunday elected president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) here.

Manhas, 45, became the 37th president of the Board, as he succeeded Roger Binny who resigned last month after turning 70.

The former all-rounder, who featured in 157 First-Class, 130 List A and 55 IPL matches between 1997-98 and 2016-17, had emerged as the consensus choice following an informal meeting of the Board’s power brokers in New Delhi earlier this month.

Manhas has an impressive tally of 9714 first class runs with 27 centuries to go with 4126 runs in List A matches.

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The AGM confirmed a few other key appointments. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and IPL Governing Council chairman Arun Dhumal retained their posts, while Karnataka State Cricket Association chief and former India cricketer Raghuram Bhat was elected treasurer.

Prabhtej Bhatia moved from treasurer to joint secretary, replacing Rohan Gauns Desai, and Saurashtra Cricket Association President Jaydev Shah made an Apex Council member in place of Dilip Vengsarkar.

Amita Sharma was named chairperson of the women’s selection panel, replacing Neetu David. The former India fast bowler, who played 116 ODIs, will be joined by Shyama Dey, Jaya Sharma and Sravanthi Naidu. Their tenure will begin after the women’s World Cup being held in India and Sri Lanka from September 30 to November 2.

Former India internationals RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha were inducted into the men’s selection panel, while ex-Tamil Nadubatter S Sharath returned to the junior selection committee.

Welcoming Manhas’ election, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, attending the AGM as Punjab Cricket Association’s representative, said a cricketer at the helm of affairs of the Board was a positive step.

“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 also expressed hope that Manhas would focus on strengthening infrastructure across the country.

“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.”

Harbhajan also urged the BCCI to contribute towards relief work in flood-hit Punjab and other north Indian states.

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