Rajeev Shukla set to replace Lalit Modi as BCCI vice-president

Lalit Modi may be fighting the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to retain his position as the chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, his days as BCCI vice-president are numbered. By the end of this month, Rajeev Shukla will take his position.

At this stage, there are not many eligible contenders for the post of vice-president from the Central Zone. Shukla, who has held the post twice for a period of four years in all, seems to be the only candidate who fulfils the constitutional criteria — that of having attended at least two annual general meetings (AGM) — to become a vice-president.

“He is the only one who is qualified for the post from the (Central) zone,” the secretary of a state association from the concerned zone told DNA on Wednesday.

Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Vidarbha and Railways comprise the Central Zone. Shukla is the president of the UP Cricket Association. There are five zones in the BCCI and each is entitled to have a vice-president.

Modi was elected vice-president from Central Zone in 2008 when he was the president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA). Much water has flown through the Arabian Sea since then. He is no longer the RCA president, having lost the elections twice in Jaipur, and has been under suspension as IPL chairman since April 25 this year.

As per the BCCI’s constitution, an office-bearer is eligible for a term of three years but needs to have a fresh mandate after two years. This means Modi’s term as vice-president will officially be over on September 29, the date for this year’s AGM.

At this stage, there is no clarity on the status of Modi’s vice-presidency, although top Board officials say he is deemed as a “vice-president under suspension”.

When contacted, Shukla refused to talk about his elevation. “I have been a vice-president for four years before. It’s a decision among the associations of the zone,” Shukla, who is the chairman of the BCCI’s finance and media committees, told this paper.

A potential candidate for the post could have been Jyotiraditya Scindia. However, the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) president, who is the son of former BCCI president Madhavrao Scindia, hasn’t attended two AGMs. Another eligible candidate from the zone is Sanjay Jagdale but the MPCA secretary is currently the Board’s joint-secretary. Incidentally, BCCI president Shashank Manohar also hails from the Central Zone.

Apart from this, the BCCI’s power structure is unlikely to see any changes as other office-bearers and vice-presidents are set to be re-elected at the AGM.

There are, however, two key points of interest at the AGM — will Chirayu Amin, interim chairman of the IPL, become full-time chief of the league and will any body from South Zone stand against — leave alone beat — N Srinivasan for the president-elect post.