Binny Turns 70, Constitution Mandates Exit. New Sports Bill Could Offer Unexpected Reprieve
July 23, 2025: After Roger Binny turned 70 on July 19, there is some doubt over whether he will continue as president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The Supreme Court approved the BCCI’s constitution, which says that anyone who is 70 years old or older is not allowed to hold office.
BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla is now in the spotlight as a possible interim successor because of this news. However, sources close to Binny say that he might stay in a caretaker role until the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in September, which would mean he wouldn’t have to sign any official papers.
The National Sports Bill Could Be a Lifeline
The planned National Sports Bill, which is scheduled to be submitted in Parliament during the current Monsoon Session, adds a lot of complication to the situation. The BCCI doesn’t get money from the government, but because it is part of the National Sports Federation (NSF), it is expected to be covered by the Bill.
Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is going to introduce the bill, which has an important part that raises the upper age restriction for national sports federation officials from 70 to 75 years. If this law passes, it might let Binny stay in office as long as there are no age limits in the rules of the International Cricket Council (ICC), which doesn’t have any right now.
A PTI article says that if the proposed Bill passes, a person who is 69 years and 364 days old on the day they are nominated could serve their whole term even if they are above 70. This means that Binny, who turned 70 on Saturday, may get another three or perhaps five years in office, but only if the Bill is put into effect in a certain way.
Internal Discussions and Next Steps
The BCCI has not yet made an official statement, even though this could be a break for them. Top officials are coming back from Singapore after going to the ICC Annual Conference. There, it is said that they talked about the benefits and cons of either making Shukla the interim president for two months or waiting for the Sports Bill to become law.
A common opinion among BCCI members is that the president should be a former Indian cricketer, as was the case with Binny and his predecessor, Sourav Ganguly. This feeling could have an effect on the final choice on Binny’s destiny.
Binny just went to the Lord’s Test in London, but he is now on vacation in Thailand with his family and hasn’t said anything about it in public yet. Sources said that he will talk to BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and the board’s legal staff to figure out what to do next.
The date and particular details of the National Sports Bill’s adoption in Parliament will probably determine the final word on Binny’s presidency. This is because the bill is expected to take precedence over existing federation constitutions.