Jagmohan Dalmiya (May 30, 1940-September 20, 2015) passed away aged 75 after being admitted to hospital following a heart attack. Dalmiya was one of the shrewdest businessmen the cricketing world had seen. Long before N Srinivasan appeared on the scene to monopolise the game through Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), it was Dalmiya who pulled the strings and ensured BCCI became cricket’s richest and most powerful body. From being Chairman of ICC to President of BCCI, there was very little Dalmiya did not achieve in his role as a cricket administrator. Shiamak Unwalla looks back at the man who predated Srinivasan to be the original Godfather of Indian cricket. READ: Jagmohan Dalmiya passes away
Jagmohan Dalmiya got his first taste of real power at an early age. Born into a family of Marwari businessmen, Dalmiya took over from his father as the head of the family’s construction company, ML Dalmiya Co. Ltd, at the young age of 20. He had a passion for cricket though; he was a wicketkeeper-batsman of some repute (he kept wickets for Jorabagan and Rajasthan — the Kolkata club, not the Indian state), having once scored a double century. However, his interest in the game translated more through administration than it ever did in his playing days. READ: BCCI Chief Jagmohan Dalmiya hospitalised after heart attack
Dalmiya entered cricket administration in 1979, and was elected BCCI’s treasurer by 1983 . He rose through the ranks quickly, and along with IS Bindra (who was once a close ally before their relation soured) was one of the major forces that resulted in the 1987 World Cup being hosted in the subcontinent, for the first time away from England. From being a game that was slowly and steadily gaining popularity in India, cricket became the life-blood for the masses. Dalmiya identified this trend early, and was quick to monetise the game.
By the 1990s, he ensured that not only was cricket a highly profitable sport, but that BCCI became the richest cricket board in the world. And with those riches came power. Indian cricket was yet to reach the heights it would a decade or two later, but BCCI was establishing itself as cricket’s new powerhouse. And at the seat of that power was Dalmiya, who despite being forced out of ICC due to a dispute regarding TV rights came back as BCCI president.
It was around this time that Dalmiya and Sourav Ganguly became Indian cricket’s golden duo. Ganguly as captain had the complete backing of Dalmiya — just ask Mike Denness — and together they continued to establish India as a growing power in international cricket. Just like it had with Bindra, though, Dalmiya’s relationship with Ganguly deteriorated. The two who were once thick as thieves exchanged a few unpleasant words in public, but they later made up. In fact, Ganguly was one of the cricketers present during Dalmiya’s final days. READ: Ganguly – Dalmiya saga: A timeline
Dalmiya’s fall from grace coincided with Sharad Pawar’s rise to power, and Dalmiya came off worse in their initial encounter. The baton later moved on to N Srinivasan. Never one to back down, Dalmiya came back with a vengeance when the going got tough for Srinivasan following the IPL 2013 Spot-Fixing scandal, and took over first as interim chief of BCCI and later as President.
However, just as Dalmiya’s second innings as BCCI head began, his own health started failing. There were whispers that the once-sharp brain had started losing its edge, and that the astute businessman was losing his grip on the cricket body he had worked so hard to regain control of. With the Sharad Pawar faction forever at his heels and Srinivasan’s ominous figure looming in the background, the future of Dalmiya as BCCI chief was under some doubt.
And yet, in the end the only thing that kept Dalmiya from the BCCI was his own mortality. Dalmiya’s passing marks the end of a man whose vision and acumen helped, for better or worse, shape modern cricket.
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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