Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh will be the Punjab Cricket Association’s nominated representative for the upcoming Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) annual general body meeting, where five key office-bearers are to be elected.
The former India spinner won’t be the lone big name attending the BCCI’s AGM to be held on September 28. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly too has been nominated by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). The Indian board is also scheduled to go for a fresh election for the Apex Council and the IPL Governing Council members.
One of the main agenda points for the AGM is the election and induction of the following Office Bearers of BCCI: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Joint Secretary and Treasurer. Election and induction of one representative of the General Body in the Apex Council of the BCCI and two representatives of the General Body in the Governing Council of the IPL is also on the cards.
It will be interesting to see if the state association picks one of its former cricketers to lead the board once again. Ganguly took over as the board president in 2019, while 1983 World Cup winner Roger Binny held the post most recently, after being elected unopposed in October 2022. The Indian board’s decision-makers did reach out to many past Indian cricketers to take up administrative roles, but no one else showed interest.
Harbhajan, a member of the Rajya Sabha and affiliated with the Aam Aadmi Party, was appointed as advisor to the Punjab Cricket Association earlier and this will be his first visit as representative of his parent state association. The offspinner played 103 Test matches for India, taking 417 wickets. He also played 236 ODIs, where he had a tally of 269 wickets and was part of the World Cup-winning squad in 2011.
As per the circular sent to all state associations, the deadline for members to file applications to nominate their representatives is September 12. The election officer has decided that the window to file a nomination application is from September 20 to 21. The candidates can withdraw their names by September 23, while the election will be held on the 28th of this month.
The Indian board hasn’t seen an actual election over the last decade, and it seems candidates will be chosen after having a discussion among members.
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Karnataka State Cricket Association has decided to nominate Raghuram Bhatt as their representative, while Mumbai Cricket Association has nominated Sanjay Naik. Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association has nominated former IPL chairman Arun Dhumal, whereas Rajeev Shukla will be the representative from Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association. Jaydev Shah has been nominated by the Saurashtra Cricket Association, and Pranav Amin will represent Baroda. Tamil Nadu has nominated its secretary, RI Palani.
