The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) elected a new chief. The nomination was solely for the position of a past player and advocate known as Devajit Saikia.
“Devajit Saikia is declared duly elected as the Secretary of BCCI,” the board stated. Saikia, 55, takes over the reins from Jay Shah, who is now the chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the global cricket governing body.
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Prabhtej Singh Bhatia, a businessman and state cricket administrator, has also been appointed the BCCI treasurer. Shah’s move to the ICC last month led to his appointment since Saikia was already performing the duties of an interim secretariat for BCCI.
Not that cricket fans would know him all that well; but as far as connections are concerned, Saikia is quite solidly placed with India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP. He started in administration as a general secretary of a cricket club in Assam, which comes under Himanta Biswa Sarma, and is now the chief minister of Assam for the BJP.
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Both of them, Saikia and Sarma, later became members of the Assam State Cricket Association. On assuming office as chief minister, Sarma appointed Saikia as Advocate General’s chief legal advisor to the aforementioned government.
As a wicketkeeper-batsman, Saikia had a rather brief first-class career, turning out in four matches for Assam in a spell of 53 runs. His background has not permitted him the luxury of claiming too much attention for what he has achieved on the pitch, but his administrative prowess might just carry him to the leader of the world’s most powerful cricket boards.