Rajeev Shukla set to take over as BCCI interim president in July

Congress Rajya Sabha MP and veteran cricket administrator Rajeev Shukla is set to take charge as the interim president of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) next month. He will take over from former World Cup winner Roger Binny, the current incumbent, who will have to vacate the post owing to an age-cap rule.

Binny will turn 70 on 19 July, when the BCCI age-limit clause comes into force for him. Shukla, currently the vice-president of BCCI, will step in to officiate until a new president is elected in September. The BCCI rules state that ‘the vice-president shall officiate in the president’s absence when the president is unavailable,’ thus paving the way for Shukla to take over as the interim president.

“The vice-president shall also exercise such functions and duties as he may be empowered by the General Body of the Apex Council,” the BCCI rules read. Informed sources in the BCCI feel that Shukla, who has been a troubleshooter for the board on several occasions, may be an acceptable candidate for all camps should he be keen, but it’s ‘still early days’ to predict a fulltime successor of Binny.

Incidentally, the position of BCCI secretary fell vacant last year when Jay Shah was elected as International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman in December 2024. He relinquished his post and Devajit Saikia, who was then a joint secretary, took over as interim secretary until the board called for the secretary’s election.

Shukla, a journalist-turned-politician, was the IPL commissioner from 2011-17. In 2020, he was elected unopposed as BCCI vice-president and re-elected for the next cycle in 2022. He has been a president of the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) and enjoys a good personal equation with the top brass of the cricket establishments of neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.