BCCI appoint Hemang Amin as interim CEO

The departure of Rahul Johri meant that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had to consider a temporary option for the post of CEO, and they found one in Hemang Amin. In an interaction with IANS, a BCCI functionary said that it was a justified move due to the fact that Amin has been one of the most dedicated members of the BCCI over the last couple of years.

The functionary said, “The right man for this charge. To be very honest his contribution to the BCCI has been miles ahead of Johri and he did the real work for most of the commercial deals of the BCCI.”

The same was echoed by a former office bearer who worked with Amin, who said that the latter has been a sincere worker and someone who has the interest of the BCCI at heart. His words were, with a smile on his face, “Sincere, competent, has the best interests of BCCI at heart and also writes his own emails.”

Johri’s resignation was accepted on Thursday, and a board official in the know of developments had said that the leak of confidential financial information over a sponsorship deal was like the nail in the coffin as the current dispensation believes in utmost transparency in its functioning.

Amin is the IPL COO and had played a major role in deciding on doing away with the opening ceremony last year and rather donate the fund to the Pulwama martyrs’ families, who lost their lives to a terror attack by Jaish-e-Mohammad last February.

Meanwhile, The BCCI will be looking to start the process of appointing a new, permanent CEO at its Apex Council meeting on July 17. According to the new BCCI constitution approved by the Supreme Court, having a CEO is mandatory. According to Rule 23 of the constitution, the CEO has to be appointed by the Apex Council. It has been learnt that “appointment of staff ” is one of the items on the agenda of the July 17 meeting.

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The first step in that direction would bw advertising for the CEO’s post, following which candidates will be shortlisted. Considering the situation in the country, interviews might have to be conducted online before a candidate is selected. Other than a CEO, the position of CFO is also vacant after Santosh Rangnekar tendered his resignation last November. The National Cricket Academy had a COO. That post, too, is vacant after Toofan Ghosh put in his papers in December. It remains to be seen if the BCCI hires new faces for these two positions or advertises only for a CEO.

The CEO is an important position in BCCI, which comes with the responsibility of handling a number of departments. Rule 20 (1) of the BCCI constitution says: “Day to day management of non-cricketing matters including operations, technical, human resources, finance and media shall be conducted by the CEO under the supervision of the Apex Council aided by the advice of the standing committee as set out in Rule 24.”
The constitution also specifies that the CEO has to be a “management professional with management experience of at least five years as the CEO/MD of a company with a turnover of at least Rs 100 crore.” The CEO can be assisted by a team of not more six managers in matters regarding “finance, technical, infrastructure, law, media and human resources”. The CEO’s job is a lucrative one, considering that Johri started in 2016 at an annual salary of around Rs 5.5 crore. The pay package is also linked to the revenue the BCCI earns.