Mithun Manhas Emerges As Surprise Choice For BCCI President

What an irony that Mithun Manhas, a sub-committee member appointed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), to administrator cricket in Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), is to be elected as President (unopposed) of the BCCI itself! Those who call the shots at the BCCI, a financial behemoth, surprised one and all by choosing to back Manhas for the post of President and five more to its three-year Apex Council. The 45-year-old Manhas, born in Jammu and Kashmir, was not lucky to play for India, but he has ticked a handful of weighty boxes; he is a 157-match first class cricketer for Delhi and J&K, turned out in big numbers in limited over matches and Twenty20, was contracted by three IPL teams as player, coached a handful of IPL teams and the Bangladesh under-19 team. His latest role is “Member, Cricket operations and Development” JKCA. The question is “Does he receive any honorarium” from JKCA? Manhas was one among the few, but well-known like Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, Raghuram Bhat and Jaydev Shah in the 35-card electoral list and hence eligible to contest elections. And at the residence of a Union Minister in New Delhi on Saturday (Sep 20) some influential members of the BCCI proposed Manhas and five others for different posts. The discerning in the BCCI – past and present administrators- feel that the Supreme Court validated Reforms-in-Cricket incorporated in the BCCI Constitution has eliminated the democratic process of an election. Elections did not take place in 2019 and 2022 and when vacancies were created for three posts from November 2024. But with Manhas set to become President on September 28, the trend of cricketers becoming BCCI Presidents continues.