"My colleagues have reposed their confidence in me": BCCI secretary Saikia on filing nomination ahead of board's elections

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 21 (ANI): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia said that he has filed a nomination for his post ahead of the board's upcoming elections, saying that his colleagues have "reposed their confidence" in him.

Saikia was speaking to the media at BCCI headquarters ahead of the board's elections, which will take place on September 28, the day of the board's Annual General Meeting.

Speaking to the media about elections, Saikia said to the media, "Till now, I have filed my nomination for secretary. People are submitting nominations for all posts. The process is going on. The deadline to file a nomination is 4 pm. Till 4 pm, we would not get to know who all have filed the nominations. Till now, seven to eight nominations have already been submitted; the rest are in the queue. I have filed my nomination because I was the secretary for the last 9-10 months... My colleagues wanted me to file a nomination for the secretary post... They have reposed their confidence."

Saikia replaced Jay Shah as BCCI's secretary last year, as the latter started his tenure as the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman in December.

Former Delhi captain Mithun Manhas on Sunday filed his nomination for the post of BCCI president. Speaking to the media, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Devajit Saikia said, "Mithun Manhas filed his nomination in front of me."

Manhas is currently the sole candidate for the top post, which has been vacant since Roger Binny stepped down in August. BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla has been serving as interim president in the meantime, according to ESPNcricinfo.

Another former cricketer is also expected to join the board's top brass, with ex-India spinner Raghuram Bhat likely to be appointed as treasurer. Bhat currently heads the Karnataka State Cricket Association.

Manhas, who turns 46 next month, has been closely involved in cricket administration. He is part of the BCCI-appointed sub-committee that oversees the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association. Born in Jammu, he shifted from Delhi to Jammu & Kashmir in 2015 before retiring the following year. Post-retirement, he has served in several coaching roles, including with Indian Premier League (IPL) teams Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Punjab Kings, and Gujarat Titans, and also worked as a batting consultant with Bangladesh Under-19.

An accomplished domestic cricketer, Manhas featured in 157 first-class matches between 1997 and 2017, amassing 9714 runs. He also played 130 List A games (4126 runs) and 91 T20s (1170 runs), making him one of the most prolific batters in India's domestic circuit.

Manhas' name came during an informal meeting in Delhi on Saturday, which was attended by several key figures, including ICC chairman Jay Shah, Rajeev Shukla, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) president Rohan Jaitley and former board secretary Niranjan Shah, as per ESPNcricinfo.

Also, Saikia talked about the demise of legendary Assam singer Zubeen Garg and revealed that BCCI, in collaboration with the International Cricket Council (ICC), is planning an opening ceremony for the upcoming ICC Women's World Cup, starting from September 30, with a clash between India and Sri Lanka at Guwahati.

"Recently, the music icon of Assam, Zubeen Garg, passed away. Today, his mortal remains have arrived in Guwahati, and they will be kept for 1-2 days for public homage. There is massive grief in Assam. ICC, along with BCCI, is planning an opening ceremony for the ICC Women's World Cup, which will start in Guwahati with a match between India and Sri Lanka. As a person who deserves so much respect, the Assam Cricket Association, along with the BCCI, will have a programme for him at the time of the opening ceremony. By this evening, we will finalise it all: who will be the artist paying their tribute and respect to Zubeen? But there will be a 40-minute programme in the name of Zubeen. That is the biggest tribute the cricketing fraternity could offer him. Shreya Ghoshal will also be performing during the mid-innings," he added.

Assamese singer Zubeen, best known for the song 'Ya Ali', passed away after a scuba diving accident in Singapore on Friday.

The Northeast India Festival also issued a statement, saying that Zubeen Garg suffered breathing difficulties during scuba diving. "He was immediately given CPR before being rushed to Singapore General Hospital. Despite efforts to save him, he was declared deceased in the ICU around 2:30 PM IST," the statement added.

The news sent a shockwave across the nation, with condolences and tributes pouring in on social media.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma mourned the passing of Garg with a heartfelt tribute."Today Assam lost one of its favourite sons. I am in a loss of words to describe what Zubeen meant for Assam. He has gone too early; this was not an age to go. Zubeen's voice had an unmatched ability to energise people and his music spoke directly to our minds and souls. He has left a void that will never be filled. Our future generations will remember him as a stalwart of Assam's culture, and his works will inspire many more talented artists in the days and years to come," a part of his tweet read.

The singer's mortal remains were brought from New Delhi to Guwahati, where thousands of emotional fans gathered to pay their respects.

In Guwahati, people lit candles in his memory, mourning the loss of the beloved artist.

CM Sarma on Sunday said that the popular singer "will be accorded a befitting farewell" that justifies his "legacy".

The Chief Minister also inspected a proposed cremation site in Sonapur and took stock of the preparation ahead of the singer's final rites.

Posting on social media platform X, the Assam CM wrote, "Our #BelovedZubeen will be accorded a befitting farewell, one that justifies his legacy as one of Assam's biggest cultural icons. I inspected the proposed cremation site in Sonapur a while back to oversee the preparations for where Zubeen will be laid to the final rest." (ANI)

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