Meet new BCCI president Roger Binny: Railway guard’s son, World Cup winner, dog-rescuer, loves fishing but doesn’t rock the boat

1983 World Cup veteran Roger Binny has been appointed as the new president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Binny takes over reins from the former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday. Binny was appointed as the BCCI top boss at the Annual General Meeting of the cricket board at Mumbai’s Taj Hotel today. 

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, Vice President Rajiv Shukla, Treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal and Former President Ganguly were present at the event.

Binny has played 27 Tests and 72 ODIs for India between 1979-1987 and was the president of Karnataka State Cricket Association prior to being appointed as the BCCI president. Home Minister Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah will continue as the secretary of the BCCI. Ganguly was unanimously elected as the BCCI president back in October 2019. 

Commenting on Binny’s appointment as the BCCI boss

former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin said, “He is a nice man. I have played a lot of cricket with him and we have fond memories. No discussions took place on the ICC chairman post today, the board will decide later.”

Cricketer Yuvraj Singh congratulated Binny on his appointment to the top job at the BCCI. Singh tweeted, “My best wishes to Mr Roger Binny on being elected as the new president of the BCCI. I’m sure the board will benefit greatly from your experience. Congratulations Sourav Ganguly dada on the completion of your term as president!”

Reacting to Roger Binny’s appointment as the president of one of the world’s richest cricket boards, Ganguly said, “I wish Roger all the best. The new group will take this forward. BCCI is in great hands. Indian cricket is strong so I wish them all the luck.”

After his appointment, Binny underlined two primary areas of focus– preventing injuries to players and condition of pitches in the country. He said, “As the BCCI president, I want to primarily focus on 2 things. First is the prevention of injuries to the players. Jasprit Bumrah got injured just before the World Cup, which affects the whole plan. Second, I want to focus on the pitches in the country.”