New BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia optimistic about Indian cricket's ability to bounce back from setbacks

Devajit Saikia was elected as the new Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday during the Special General Meeting held in Mumbai. He was elected unopposed to the position.

A former first-class cricketer with four domestic caps for Assam, Saikia had conducted a tour review meet on India’s 1-3 series loss in Australia with skipper Rohit Sharma, head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar the previous day.

“It is a big challenge because if you see, we are not doing good in Test cricket in the last two series against Australia as well as New Zealand. So, immediately we are having the England series so far as T20 is concerned and thereafter the big event of Champions Trophy in Dubai. We have to think about one (tournament) at a time. We have had a lot of discussions during the last two days and we are trying to streamline; whatever our drawbacks are, we have to overcome them,” he told reporters at the BCCI headquarters.

“We are taking all the expert opinion also. So, we look forward to a very positive outcome from these discussions and exercise. Our immediate challenge is the England series (at home) and thereafter the Champions Trophy.”

“I will carry forward the work done by ICC chairman and former BCCI secretary Jay Shah,” he added.

Saikia is the Advocate General of Assam. Under his watch, the Assam Cricket Association hosted IPL matches as well as warm-up matches for the 2023 ODI World Cup in Guwahati.

IPL 2025 from March 21

The IPL Governing Council finalised the dates of IPL 2025, which is scheduled to start on March 21. The Eden Gardens has been chosen to host the tournament opener as well as the final on May 25. Qualifier 1 and Eliminator are likely to be held in Hyderabad. WPL action will begin on February 7 across four venues — Lucknow, Vadodara, Mumbai (CCI) and Bengaluru.

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