Rajeev Shukla set to become acting BCCI president as incumbent Binny hits age cap
New Delhi (PTI): Veteran cricket administrator Rajeev Shukla is set to replace Roger Binny as BCCI president in an interim capacity after the latter turns 70 next month, BCCI sources told PTI on Monday.
Binny, who had replaced Sourav Ganguly as the Board president in 2022, turns 70 on July 19, crossing the age-limit threshold for a BCCI office-bearer.
Shukla, 65, is currently serving as the BCCI vice-president, a post he has held since 2020.
He would be the active BCCI chief until fresh elections are held during the body's AGM in September.
"As per convention, the senior most office-bearer takes charge in a such a scenario. He (Shukla) will perform that role until fresh elections are held in September," said a BCCI source.
The Rajya Sabha MP from the Congress party has previously also served as the chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Most recently, C K Khanna had served as the acting BCCI president from 2017 to 2019 during the tenure of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators that governed the board for 33 months.
Binny was the president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association before taking charge of the world's richest cricket board three years ago.
Counted among the greats of the game, the former all-rounder was a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team under Kapil Dev.
He later went on to coach the India Under-19 team that won the 2000 edition of ICC World Cup for that age group.
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Brazil's Ancelotti raises doubts about whether Neymar will reach the 2026 World Cup
Sao Paulo (AP): Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti raised doubts about whether Neymar will be in his squad for the 2026 World Cup. The Italian has yet to pick the former captain since he took over in May.
“If Neymar deserves to be (in the squad), if he is, well, better than others, he will play in the World Cup and that's it. (But) I don't have debts to anyone,” Ancelotti said at a press conference in Washington on Friday following the draw.
Brazil is in Group C with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.
“If we speak about Neymar, we have to speak about other players,” Ancelotti added. “We have to think about Brazil with or without Neymar, with or without other players. Our final list we will make after the FIFA fixtures in March.”
The 33-year-old Neymar has never fully recovered from a torn ACL in October 2023 during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay. But he's been key for Santos in its fight to avoid relegation in the Brazilian championship.
On Wednesday, he scored a hat trick for Santos despite a muscular injury. He is expected to play again on Sunday against Cruzeiro.
Ancelotti said Brazil does not have a “referential player” at the moment, a tag for the most valuable player that Neymar has mainly worn since the 2014 home World Cup.
“We have one of the world's best goalkeepers, some of the best defenders, top midfielders and some players up front. I don't want players who want to be the best in the world, I want players who want to win the World Cup,” Ancelotti said.
Asked about his team's group, Ancelotti said Brazil can top it.
“We can win all three matches, our idea is very clear. We need to be competitive during the entire World Cup. Our goal is to play in the final and for that to happen you need to face very strong teams anyway.”
Brazil won the last of its five World Cup trophies in 2002.
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