A major change in the Indian cricket administration has come as Rohan Jaitley, the son of late Arun Jaitley, has emerged as the frontrunner to succeed Jay Shah as BCCI secretary. This potential transition comes at a time when Jay Shah is set to become the chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) after ICC chairman Greg Barclay decided against seeking re-election.
Rohan Jaitle has been involved in the cricket administration for the last four years. He was initially elected in 2020 to be the president of the DDCA and was again elected for the second term in the early part of this year without any competition. Jaitley’s experience in law having practised in the Supreme Court of India and Delhi High Court and his recent appointment as a Central Government Standing Counsel for Delhi High Court is an added advantage.
During the presidency of Jaitley, the DDCA successfully staged several major cricketing events; the Arun Jaitley stadium has been home to five ODI World Cup matches in 2023. He has also managed to bring out the first edition of the Delhi Premier League that involved big names in cricket like Rishabh Pant and Ishant Sharma.
Jaitley’s candidacy for the BCCI secretary post is very strong, given the fact that he comes from a family of administrators and has also been involved in the administration of cricket. His father Arun Jaitley had a lot of say in BCCI as he was the vice-president of DDCA for 14 years. This background coupled with the performance of Jaitley makes him a favorite of BCCI members.
However, Jaitley has recently denied such reports by saying that he is still concentrating much on the Delhi Premier League. This development makes the situation less clear, however, Jaitley’s name is still in the list of discussions regarding the BCCI secretary.
While Jay Shah is gearing up for the new responsibility of ICC chairman, the BCCI will have to come up with its new secretary. Jaitley has had prior experience and has been associated with the BCCI for quite some time now, and hence he is a strong contender for this position that will bring stability in the Indian cricket administration.
