BCCI Prepares for IPL Governing Council Re-Election

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has quietly moved into election mode, but there is no hint of a power struggle this time. The Electoral Officer for the BCCI, AK Joti, has formally notified elections for two posts on the IPL Governing Council, with the vote scheduled during the BCCI Annual General Meeting on September 18.

These are not marquee battles. They are housekeeping exercises in a structure that is already firmly in place.

Under Rule 28 of the BCCI Constitution, the IPL Governing Council must include four members from the BCCI general body, with two of those positions filled through election at the AGM. At present, those elected seats are held by Arun Singh Dhumal of Himachal Pradesh, who serves as chairman, and Khairul Jamal Majumdar of Mizoram.

Both are set to return. Unopposed.

Their term, as defined by the BCCI constitution, runs for just one year, which means even incumbents must seek fresh mandate annually. Dhumal and Majumdar will file their nominations on September 9 or 10, after which the Electoral Officer will scrutinise the papers. The final list of candidates will be released on September 12, but all indications point to a straightforward reappointment.

The other two general body representatives on the seven-member IPL Governing Council are BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and treasurer Raghuram Bhat. Around them sits the rest of the power core: the BCCI CEO, a representative from the Indian Cricketers’ Association, and a nominee of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). It is a compact group, designed to blend administrative control, player representation, and oversight.

The narrow scope of the election notification is telling. With the notice confined strictly to the two IPL GC posts, any speculation about surprise contests for other key positions can be put to rest. The current office-bearers are expected to continue, and the board has shown no appetite for upheaval.

Behind the scenes, the machinery that feeds into this process is already in motion. The Electoral Officer has called on all Full Members of the BCCI to submit applications naming their representatives for inclusion in the Electoral Roll for the IPL GC elections. Those representatives, drawn from the state associations attending the AGM, will make up the voting pool.

State units were asked to begin nominating their AGM representatives from August 25, with August 31 set as the deadline. Objections, if any, will be examined before the final Electoral Roll is locked in and released on September 8.

It is a carefully sequenced calendar: representatives confirmed on September 8, nominations for the GC posts on September 9 and 10, final list of contestants on September 12, and the decisive AGM on September 18.

No drama. No open contest. Just the steady consolidation of an IPL governance structure that, for now, looks content to stay exactly as it is.