Rahul Johri leaves BCCI office after approval of resignation from post of chief executive

BCCI chief executive Rahul Johri’s application for resignation from the post, which was submitted to BCCI secretary Jay Shah a few months ago, has been approved by the BCCI. Johri has vacated the office with immediate effect as per instructions from the BCCI.

Johri, whose tenure was supposed to end in April but for an interim extension by the board, has been BCCI’s first CEO, appointed 4 years ago. A top BCCI official told The Indian Express yesterday, “His resignation was accepted today (Thursday). He had officially handed his resignation some time ago but due to COVID-19, the board didn’t take a decision as BCCI wondered how he would find a job in these times. However, the board now has released him with immediate effect.”

At the moment, it is not clear whether the BCCI will appoint a new CEO in the coming days. The board is working without a chief financial officer (CFO) after Santosh Rangnekar, who turned out to be incumbent for the job, tendered his resignation just after the new BCCI dispensation took over from the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA).

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The Lodha committee’s recommendation that asked for the board to separate their governance and management wings resulted in the BCCI hiring both Johri and Rangnekar in June 2016. Their appointments was part of an initiative called ‘Project Transformation’, initiated by former BCCI president Shashank Manohar, aimed at improving the board’s governance, operational and financial processes. Johri assumed wider powers during the tenure of the Committee of Administrators (CoA), which was appointed by the Supreme Court in January 2017 as a supervisory authority to facilitate the BCCI’s implementation of the Lodha committee’s reforms. Along with the CoA, he was involved in the BCCI and ICC brokering a truce over the new finance model. He also oversaw the sale of the IPL media rights deal which Star India bagged in 2017 by paying a record US $2.55 billion for five years.
Johri’s supervision was not limited to just the running of the BCCI. Johri played a key role during the controversial stepping down of Anil Kumble as India’s head coach immediately after the 2017 Champions Trophy. In October 2018, Johri faced sexual harassment allegation from an anonymous woman as part of the #MeToo movement. In November, Johri resumed office after the independent committee appointed by the CoA did not find him guilty in what was seen as a contentious clean chit.

Inputs: Nagraj Gollapudi, ESPNCricinfo