Amid swirling speculation over the next president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), former Delhi cricketer Mithun Manhas has emerged as the front-runner for the position. He filed his nomination for the BCCI presidency on Sunday (September 21), the last day for filing papers in the election process. He is expected to get the post unopposed, naturally.

Raghuram Bhatt, a former India Test cricketer, was also in the fray for the top post till the very last minute. But in the end, he had to settle for the treasurer role. He also filed papers. "I will do my best for Indian cricket and the BCCI in whatever way I can," the former India spinner from Bengaluru told Cricbuzz after formally staking his claim.

Besides Manhas and Bhatt, Devajit Saikia and Prabhtej Bhatia also filed for the secretary and joint secretary posts. Incumbent joint secretary Rohan Dessai was expected to continue too, but after his faction lost the election in the Goa Cricket Association (GCA), he missed out on retaining his position. His position has been taken by Bhatia, who made way Bhat in the treasurer's role.

IPL chairman Arun Dhumal's position was initially uncertain amid confusion over whether he fell under the cooling-off ambit. The BCCI later sought legal advice, which cleared him to continue. At the time of filing this report, he had not yet arrived to file his nomination.

Manhas (45), who featured in 157 first-class matches in a domestic career of 18 years, spanning from 1998 to 2016, emerged as a surprise choice given the high profiles of other contenders and aspirants. Sourav Ganguly's name remained in the fray until the last minute, as did Harbhajan Singh's, but Manhas got the surprise nod from the powers that be in Delhi.

Manhas, who has been administrator of Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), was nominated by the JKCA for the September 28 election and Annual General Meeting (AGM). "His cricketing background has helped him get the position," Rajeev Shukla, who will continue as vice-president, said at the BCCI office.

It was a high-powered meeting at a Union Minister's residence on Saturday night, with many aspirants asked to come to Delhi and wait for the call. Present at the meeting were all BCCI functionaries - Saikia, Singh, Shukla, and Dhumal.

Also in attendance at a union minister's residence were BCCI 'seniors' such as Niranjan Shah, the former BCCI secretary from Saurashtra, and Kasi Viswanathan from Tamil Nadu, who represented former president N Srinivasan. Brijesh Patel, a former chairman of the IPL Governing Council and a strongman from Karnataka, was summoned to the meeting too. Interestingly, Ganguly was also in Delhi on Saturday, but there was no information that he attended the meeting.