In his first major interaction since taking charge, BCCI president Mithun Manhas speaks about Jammu and Kashmir’s historic Ranji Trophy triumph, the board’s stance on bilateral cricket with Pakistan, and why protecting the domestic system remains non-negotiable. The conversation was moderated by Sandeep Dwivedi, National Sports Editor, The Indian Express.Sandeep Dwivedi: In your seven months as BCCI president, what has been your biggest challenge?This has been an extremely demanding and packed year. The women’s World Cup, followed by the Women’s Premier League, then the men’s T20 World Cup and finally the IPL. While I’m relatively new to this role, I have been fortunate to receive excellent support from my colleagues at the BCCI. I also benefited from the guidance of Mr Jay Shah, the ICC president who was the BCCI chief back then. His insight and support have been very valuable. Not just BCCI, even when I joined the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) in 2021 and even now, he has guided me.Sriram Veera: You got into cricket administration in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The year you became BCCI president, J&K made history by winning the Ranji Trophy.The victory can be a turning point for cricket in J&K and Ladakh. We were always rich in talent but it was just about channelling the potential in the right direction. When I joined, my idea was: we play to win, and even if we lose while doing that, it doesn’t matter.In the 67 years of J&K cricket history, we have never done anything particularly special. But we have always shown glimpses of talent. This time, eight of our teams qualified for the knockout stage in various domestic competitions. Our effort was to be very transparent and honest in our approach. You will be surprised to know that the JKCA in Jammu still holds matches at a college ground. They don’t have a stadium, even after 67 years. In Kashmir, they have a stadium, but it’s in poor condition. Jay Shah bhai was the first from the BCCI to visit our region in our 67-year history. After that, there was no looking back. Now, we don’t need to go outside our state to play cricket. We have the best red soil and black soil wickets. The SG Test and Kookaburra balls that are used in national tournaments are used for training at our camps as well. We start early, and before the season begins, the age-group teams and the senior teams each play about 40 to 50 games.Sriram Veera: What made you choose Ajay Sharma as the J&K coach?Story continues below this adAjay Sharma has been around since I started my cricket. I believe in him and have worked very closely with him. I understand how he operates. He’s a demanding coach who knows the fine nuances of batting. We have been struggling with our batting — bowling has always been our strength. He’s also very disciplined and firm. I’m very happy for him. He’s got his due.ON WHY AHMEDABAD GETS BIG GAMES | ‘It is the rotation policy… also about generating revenue. Ahmedabad is our biggest stadium and BCCI benefits from that. If we generate a lot of revenue from one stadium and can accommodate more fans, why not?’Nihal Koshie: Ajay Sharma is a Delhi cricketer and comes from a different culture. Did he take time to adjust?Everything takes time. If you want to do something good, it takes time — kharab karne ke liye do minute hi lagte hain. (to spoil something it takes two minutes) It is all about understanding their point of view and where they were coming from. Coach and players need to gel. If they don’t trust each other, players wouldn’t talk about their faults. It’s like going to a doctor. Unless you tell him what the problem is, he can’t help. Or he will continue doing the tests and nothing will happen. It takes time. It was not about me or Ajay bhai or anyone — it was all about maximising their potential.Sandeep Dwivedi: What has been the impact of the Ranji Trophy win beyond the sporting field in J&K? What does this win mean to the people of the region?Story continues below this adWhen we were playing the final, bazaars were empty as everyone was glued to their television sets. There was not a home where the final was not being watched. This win will help us not just in cricket but will be very beneficial for the youth as well. There is a lot of struggle here. Every boy and girl has a story. I think this win means something very special to us.Now they’ve started believing that boys and girls from JK can move ahead in life because of cricket. Parents from remote areas are sending their children to cricket centres. Imagine, today we have a girl from Gurez who wants to be a trainer. Players from Ladakh, Kargil, Gurez, Chenab Valley, Poonch, Rajouri and border areas want to play cricket. It is a wave that has swept the whole of JK. Special credit goes to Jay bhai because he was the one man who believed that we could do it. Whatever we asked of him, he provided. And here we are, Ranji Trophy champions in 2026, only the 11th association to do so.Sandeep Dwivedi: Has cricket been able to drop the hyphen that connected Jammu and Kashmir?Back in the day, there used to be an 8-8 quota for Jammu cricketers and those from the Kashmir valley. I never believed in it. For me, it doesn’t matter which religion you follow. My religion is cricket and that should come to the fore. Whenever I speak, I call it JK, never J&K.On the change in J&K team | ‘Back in the day, there used to be an 8-8 quota for Jammu cricketers and those from the Kashmir valley. I never believed in it. For me, it doesn’t matter which religion you follow. My religion is cricket’Story continues below this adSandeep Dwivedi: India’s presence in world cricket keeps spreading. Indian or Indian-origin cricket entrepreneurs own teams in most leagues around the world. Do you think Indian players also need to be allowed to play in these leagues?It is a very pertinent question but there are a lot of factors. The international cricketing calendar is extremely demanding, followed by a long domestic season and the high-intensity IPL. In addition, many states have their own T20 leagues, which means players are engaged in cricket almost throughout the year. Our focus is that the domestic system remains strong. This can be achieved only if our established players are playing with young talent in domestic leagues — they transfer their experience and that’s how the system grows. So at this time it will be challenging to permit our players to participate in overseas T20 leagues. It is also about their mental and physical health and keeping them fresh whenever they play for India.Mihir Vasavda: How can the BCCI improve the fan experience? There are complaints about ticket availability, poor stadium conditions, unhygienic toilets and overpriced water at nearly every venue.Enhancing the fan experience is a key priority. It is extremely important and we are actively working on it. Whenever incidents are reported, we look into them seriously and make amends. We are in constant dialogue with our member associations to identify gaps and implement improvements across stadiums.Story continues below this adWe are also in the process of appointing a professional agency to assess some of our major venues and provide detailed recommendations on areas that require attention.Mihir Vasavda: Given what is happening with FIFA World Cup media rights, do you fear IPL rights could stagnate or even decline in value?No, not really. I don’t agree with that assessment, although it is something we need to remain mindful of. The IPL and Indian cricket continue to be extremely strong properties with a robust fan base in India and across the world. The growth over the past decade has been phenomenal. The IPL continues to offer unmatched reach and consistently high-quality cricket. Engagement across platforms remains strong and we are also seeing evolving consumption patterns, especially on digital, which are opening up new avenues for value creation. Our focus remains on maintaining the quality and competitiveness of the tournament because that is what ultimately drives value. Given those factors, we are confident the value of the rights will continue to grow.Shankar Narayan: Almost every year, Test matches in north India are scheduled in October or November despite an obvious pollution issue. Have any measures been taken to ensure avoiding this in the future?Story continues below this adThere are a lot of factors that go into allocating matches. The BCCI broadly follows a rotation policy to ensure fair distribution across venues. We are also very careful about external factors — weather conditions, logistical requirements and pollution in northern regions during certain times of the year. We take these very seriously. We try to plan the schedule in a way that avoids hosting matches in such conditions, and we have done that in the past. If you look at the Ranji Trophy season, breaks have been deliberately created so that we play fewer matches in the north when conditions are bad — fog, smog, pollution — which would cause health issues.Shankar Narayan: Grounds like Ahmedabad and Guwahati are getting Border-Gavaskar Trophy games but traditional venues like Wankhede and Eden Gardens haven not hosted Australia for a very long time…It is the rotation policy. It is also about generating revenue. If you look at Ahmedabad, that’s our biggest stadium and the BCCI benefits from that. If we generate a lot of revenue from one stadium and can accommodate more fans, why not? That has been done in consultation with our respective state associations.Nihal Koshie: What is the BCCI’s policy on India playing Pakistan? And if India plays Pakistan, will we see players shake hands?Story continues below this adThe BCCI has always consistently maintained that any decision regarding bilateral series with Pakistan is subject to Government of India’s policy. We fully respect and abide by that position. Any future engagements will entirely depend on the prevailing situation.Nihal Koshie: What about handshakes?I don’t see it happening as of now. Though it’s the prerogative of players — if they don’t feel like doing it, they won’t. As Indians, our tradition is to do namaste. We were never a hand-shaking nation.Venkata Krishna B: How important is it to send a strong team to the 2028 Olympics?I can talk about it from an organisational standpoint, because I don’t get into selections as such. But I can assure you that we will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that India sends its strongest possible team to the 2028 Olympics. Proper planning and preparation will be put in place well in advance. It’s about winning gold, not just participation. So we assure you that we aim to have the best team representing the country at that stage. And it’s very important for us.Story continues below this adVenkata Krishna B: With the international calendar packed, is player fatigue becoming a concern?Not really. Test cricket is something we are very mindful of. Though it is the selectors’ job, we keep a watch on the load. There is a lot of cricket happening and that’s why we don’t allow our players to play foreign leagues. We also follow a rotation policy. So the team management is constantly in touch with the selection committee and that’s how they operate. Players’ fitness and mental health is of paramount importance to us.Venkata Krishna B: Given recent Test setbacks against New Zealand and South Africa at home, what is being done to improve performance?We always get back to the drawing board. We want more senior players to play domestic cricket — not just the one-day format but the days format too. We need preparatory camps before Test series like we used to have in the past — a 10-15 day camp before a series. Before the next series, you will get to see that.Nitin Sharma: You played with Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir in Delhi. Any memories?Well, I not just played with Virat, but with Gautam too — the Indian team coach. I had also coached them (laughs). So to comment on just them and not others won’t make any sense. They are all equal to me.