Former Delhi player Mithun Manhas elected new Indian cricket chief

NEW DELHI (Agencies): Former domestic player and administrator Mithun Manhas was unanimously elected on Sunday as president of India’s cricket board, the sport’s most powerful national body. Manhas was the only nominee to be chief of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and was appointed after the board’s annual general meeting in Mumbai. Rajeev Shukla was elected as vice-president, while Devajit Saikia will stay on as secretary, the BCCI said in a statement. Manhas, 45, never played for India but turned to the game’s administration after his first-class playing career ended. He replaces India’s former World Cup-winner Roger Binny, who quit in August after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. Cricket’s massive popularity in India has helped the BCCI become by far the wealthiest of all of the sport’s boards, netting massive money from sponsorship and TV deals. Manhas’ rise has apparently been backed by India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was chosen at a key meeting in New Delhi last week that was also attended by senior BJP members, the Indian media reported.

The meeting was held at the residence of India’s Home Minister Amit Shah, who is the father of International Cricket Council chief Jay Shah. Manhas most recently worked as director of the cricket association in Indian-occupied Kashmir. A middle-order batsman who scored 9,714 runs at an average of 45.82 in 157 domestic matches, Manhas remained on the fringes of national selection. Cricket pundits have said he was unlucky to play in the same era as Indian greats Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman. He was also overshadowed by the presence of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in his Delhi team, but led the side with those two star players often on national duty. Manhas has played more than 50 matches in the Indian Premier League.