Devajit Saikia Elected New BCCI Chief by India’s Cricket Board
Devajit Saikia Elected New BCCI Chief by India’s Cricket Board
On Sunday, India’s influential and extremely wealthy Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) elected former player and lawyer Devajit Saikia as its new president. Saikia was the sole candidate nominated for the position.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India said, “Devajit Saikia is officially elected as the Secretary of BCCI.”
Saikia, who is 55 years old, takes over from Jay Shah, who left to become chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the worldwide governing body.
According to the board, Prabhtej Singh Bhatia, a businessman and state cricket administrator, has been named the BCCI‘s treasurer.
Following Shah’s departure last month to become ICC chairman, Saikia’s appointment came as he was already serving as the interim secretary on the BCCI board.
Though not well known among cricket fans due to a modest playing career, Saikia has strong connections with India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Saikia began his administrative journey by working as the general secretary of a cricket club in Assam, a northeastern state, under the leadership of Himanta Biswa Sarma, currently the chief minister for the BJP in Assam.
Both Saikia and Sarma later held positions with the Assam State Cricket Association. When Sarma was chosen to lead the state, he appointed Saikia as his advocate general and the chief legal adviser to the government.
Saikia played wicketkeeper-batsman in first-class cricket, participating in four matches for Assam, but he scored only 53 runs.
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