The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Roger Binny will continue in his position at least till the parent body's Annual General Meeting in September, despite crossing the age of 70. The member of 1983 World Cup-winning Indian team, Binny became BCCI president in October 2022, replacing former India captain Sourav Ganguly.
According to the Supreme Court-approved BCCI constitution, any office-bearer, who turns 70 is disqualified from holding the post. Binny turned 70 in July, thus automatically disqualifying him from continuing as BCCI president. Vice-president Rajeev Shukla was tipped to take over as interim chief of BCCI.
How National Sports Bill helped Roger Binny?
The development of Binny continuing as BCCI president came after the National Sports Bill was passes on Tuesday at the Rajya Sabha. Binny, if BCCI state unit members agree, can continue till 75 which is now the cut-off age for office bearers of National Sports Federations, whose global bodies don't have any specifically mentioned age clause, in this case the International Cricket Council.
"Roger will continue till board meeting in September. Whether he will get a fresh term depends on what members and other powerful people associated with the BCCI decide," a BCCI source told PTI. The BCCI will come under the purview of National Sports Bill but the Right To Information (RTI) Act won't be applicable to the country's richest sporting body which doesn't take any grant from the government.
The BCCI's legal team is still studying the fine print of the bill. "The national sports bill has just been passed, so, we have some time to study it and engage in proper discussion before taking any decision. There are other points to discuss in the bill for sure, and all the stakeholders, including senior players and coaching staff, will be consulted, particularly because cricket will be played at the 2028 Olympics," he added.
