The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Roger Binny has appointed the joint secretary Devajit Saikia as the interim secretary of the board. The position had been vacant since December 1 as Jay Shah left the position due to taking over the role of chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC). 

To appoint an interim secretary, the BCCI president utilised the special power which has been given in the constitution 7 (1) (d). Till the appointment of the permanent secretary under the BCCI rules and regulations, it has been set up as a stop-gap arrangement.

Article 7 (1) (d) claims, "The President shall, in the event of a vacancy, or indisposition of an office-bearer, delegate the functions to another Office-Bearer, delegate the functions to another Office-Bearer, until the vacancy is duly filled up, or the indisposition ceases."

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I am confident you will perform the duties to the best: Binny to Saikia

The BCCI president Roger Binny wrote to Saikia, "Accordingly, I delegate the functions of secretary to you till the post is filled up by processes laid down as per BCCI rules and regulations. I am confident you will perform the duties to the best of your abilities and with aplomb." 

Although there is no official clarification for the timeline of the latest interim secretary role, the PTI report believes the latest interim secretary role will be carried on till September 2025.

On December 5, Saikia attended the ICC board meeting in Dubai.

Who is Devajit Saikia?

Saikia is a former first-class cricketer. He played four first-class matches for the Assam cricket team between 1990 and 1991. He was a wicketkeeper and middle-order batter. Earlier, he served Assam in various youth-age tournaments.

Saikia gave up professional cricket to pursue his law career. Before starting to practice in the law field, Saikia earned jobs in the Northern Frontier Railways and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) through a sports quota. Saikia also played several Lawyers’ World Cups, including captaining one of the two Indian teams in the 2015-16 season.

Saikia's cricket administration journey started in 2016. He was one of the six vice presidents of the Assam Cricket Association (ACA), and he became the secretary of the ACA in 2019. In 2022, he became the BCCI joint secretary.