Who is Devajit Saikia? 5 interesting facts about Jay Shah's successor as BCCI Secretary

Devajit Saikia has replaced Jay Shah as the BCCI Secretary. Shah was the secretary of the board for a long time and during his tenure, India organized the ODI World Cup and sold the IPL's broadcasting rights for staggering figures.

Jay Shah has moved to the ICC, becoming the new Chairperson of the international cricket governing council. Devajit Saikia has been named as Shah's successor in the BCCI.

Although Devajit has contributed a lot to cricket in the North East, some fans may not know much about his past. Here are five interesting facts about the new BCCI secretary:

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#1 Devajit Saikia is a former wicketkeeper batter

Saikia is a former first-class cricketer for Assam. He represented his state team in four matches during the 1990/91 domestic season. Known for his wicketkeeping skills, Saikia took eight catches and executed one stumping in four games.

With the bat, he scored 53 runs in six innings. His highest score was 24, while his batting average was 8.83. Although he was a decent wicketkeeper, Saikia never got the chance to play for Team India.

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#2 Devajit Saikia is a senior advocate

Saikia was born and brought up in Guwahati. He completed his schooling at the Don Bosco School and then pursued multiple degrees. First, he went to the Cotton College, where he attained a degree in Economics.

In 1994, Saikia completed his Master's in Economics. Two years later, Saikia obtained his LLB degree from Old Earle Law College under the Gauhati University. His Instagram bio states that he is a senior advocate.

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#3 Saikia's experience as a cricket administrator

Saikia has a ton of experience working as a cricket administrator. He has worked as the Secretary of the Assam Cricket Association. In October 2022, Saikia was appointed the Joint Secretary of the BCCI.

Having worked as the Joint Secretary for two and a half years, Saikia has now been named as the board's secretary. His experience as a cricket administrator should prove handy in his upcoming term.

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#4 Saikia's life before cricket administration

As mentioned ahead, Saikia played cricket in 1990/91 and then decided to focus on studies. After completing a degree in law, Saikia enrolled as a lawyer under the Bar Council of Assam and started practice at the Gauhati High Court in 1997.

Saikia initially worked on private matters, but from 2005 onwards, he represented the Assam Government in legal cases. In 2009, he became the Additional Advocate General of Meghalaya, and in 2011, he was named the Additional Advocate General of Assam.

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#5 Played cricket with Sourav Ganguly and Maninder Singh

Devajit Saikia played only four matches in first-class cricket at the senior level, but before that, he played in multiple tournaments at the age-group level. In fact, in the 1987/88 domestic season, he played for the East Zone alongside Sourav Ganguly.

A year later, Saikia got an opportunity to play under Maninder Singh's captaincy for the Wills XI in the Wills Trophy. Saikia gave up cricket at the age of 21 to focus on studies.