Twenty-seven members of the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) have formally requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to conduct fresh elections for the state unit. The correspondence, addressed to BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, asserts that incumbent president Rohan Jaitley and treasurer Harish Singla have completed their maximum allowable tenure and must step down immediately. The letter was spearheaded by Naveen Jindal, who included signatures from twenty-six other members, while Raman Saluja submitted a separate appeal. Both documents are in the possession of the Press Trust of India (PTI), as reported by ThePrint.
The request is grounded in the BCCI’s constitution, which follows the framework devised by the Lodha Committee. According to these rules, any office-bearer who has served for a cumulative period of six years in a state unit or the national board must undergo a mandatory three-year cooling-off period. Jaitley and Singla assumed their roles on November 10, 2020, meaning they reached the six-year mark on November 9, 2026. The members argue that this makes their current positions on the Apex Council infructuous and ineligible for continuation without a break. Jindal’s letter emphasized that this governance framework was approved by the Supreme Court of India and is enshrined in the BCCI and DDCA constitutions.
Saluja’s letter extended the call for a cooling-off period to DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma. Sharma, who is 67 years old, has served on the Apex Council for nine years before being appointed secretary in 2024. The correspondence highlights a potential grey area regarding whether time spent as an Apex Council member counts toward the tenure limit for the secretary role. The members are seeking clarification and expeditious directions from the BCCI to resolve this ambiguity and ensure compliance with the mandatory governance norms.
Former DDCA secretary Vinod Tihara, who leads the opposition faction, questioned the delay in enforcing the cooling-off rule. He asked why office bearers are not stepping down if the association operates under the Lodha constitution. An anonymous DDCA official told PTI that the current leadership may be waiting for instructions from senior BCCI officials. The official suggested that the office bearers might be hoping for a favorable outcome if the BCCI eventually comes under the purview of the National Sports Governance Act, which could provide relief from the current cooling-off requirements. Jaitley was unavailable for comment regarding the allegations.