Published: Sep 21, 2015, 07:11 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 21, 2015, 11:10 PM (IST)
September 20 will probably be remembered as a black day. On this day, the game has lost one of his finest administrators — Jagmohan Dalmiya. The President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) passed away in Kolkata at the age of 75. He was the longest serving President of BCCI as well as the greatest sports administrator of the country by some distance. It was his administrative skills, which brought money in the game, which saw the rise of Indian cricket. This was indeed end of an era. Sandipan Banerjee pays homage.
Some people are born to do specific jobs. Alexander the Great, for example, was born to conquer; Isaac Newton, to invent; Don Bradman, to bat. On a lesser scale, Jagmohan Dalmiya was born to dictate terms when it came to cricket administration and Jaggu-Da [as Dalmiya was famously known in Maidan] pulled that off quite successfully and efficiently from a small room in the second floor of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). READ: Jagmohan Dalmiya: Indian cricket’s first Godfather
His glorious journey started in a sports loving Marwari family in Kolkata. His father was a huge fan of the game, which was the reason why unlike most of the other administrators of modern era, Dalmiya turned out to be a true cricket enthusiast. He was a serious cricketer since his days in Scottish Church College and represented his college and local clubs in the Kolkata Maidan as a wicketkeeper-batsman.
After finishing his studies Dalmiya joined his family business of contraction and real estate, but was never away from the sport. He was an active member of CAB. Finally, in 1979, he padded up for a more responsible role when he first joined BCCI during the regime of Ramprakash Mehra. In 1983, when NKP Salve was President, Dalmiya rose to the position of Treasurer.
Since his early days Dalmiya made name for himself as an excellent man-manager and organiser. It was in 1987 when he achieved his first administrative success: Dalmiya, Salve, IS Bindra and Ehsan Mani were the brains behind staging the 1987 Cricket World Cup in Asia, marking the beginning of the end of white dominance in world cricket.
In 1991 Dalmiya was one of the forces behind lifting the ban on South African cricket. It was because of this decision, the world got to know about the Allan Donalds and Peter Kirstens. Dalmiya staged the resurgence of South African cricket from Eden Gardens on November 10, 1991 when the Clive Rice-led South African side took on Mohammad Azharuddin-led India.
After successfully conducting the 1996 World Cup in subcontinent, Dalmiya emerged as a representative of Asian cricket. In 1997 he was unanimously elected as the first Asian President of ICC. He guided ICC to greater heights during his tenure. Globalising the game was one of Dalmiya’s top agenda: the Champions Trophy was conceived (Bangladesh and Kenya were the first two venues); Bangladesh was given Test status in 2000; Asian Cricket Council (ACC) was formed; and the first Asian Test Championship was organised.
After a successful stint with ICC, Dalmiya was elected President of BCCI for the first time in 2001. It was the turning point for BCCI in terms of the journey of becoming the powerhouse of world cricket. The concept of selling broadcasting rights to private television channels was his brainchild. Dalmiya commercialised cricket, earning huge revenue for BCCI.
He used the revenue to reshape Indian cricket. Foreign coaches were brought in. Modern infrastructures were installed as a result. On-field performances improved. The world realised the potential and impact of Indian cricket.
The rest, as they say, is history. Whatever BCCI or Indian cricket is at this moment is the result of the masterstroke of the ever-smiling, soft-spoken Marwari from Kolkata who ruled the cricketing world in the pre-internet era, his only mode of communication was the black landline in his cabin in CAB. For decades, that phone remained the epicentre of world cricket; no one could ignore a telephone call from 033-2248-1144.
He was always supportive towards the cricketers. Whenever there was any issue, Dalmiya was always there to protect their interests. The Mike Denness incident in 2001 was a classic example of it. His equations with Sourav Ganguly, till the very end of his life, are known to everyone. Arguably, he was the most pro-cricketer administrator of BCCI. READ: Ganguly – Dalmiya saga: A timeline
In his career, Dalmiya had to face a lot of hassles. Court Cases were filled, FIR was filed, he was sidelined from BCCI by his rivals — but nothing deterred Dalmiya. He used to bounce back in his own way.
Since his early days in BCCI, Dalmiya had been the 911 of Indian cricket when it came to administration. Whenever there was an emergency, the ‘crisis man’ was always there to take control of the situation. This trend continued till his last tenure. Last year, when N Srinivasan had to resign following allegations of corruptions, the majority of BCCI members approached Dalmiya to take charge. He was the only ‘go to man’. Till the end of his life he fulfilled his commitments.
This is nothing but poetic justice. A man of Dalmiya’s stature bound to finish at the top, and he did exactly that. Dalmiya finished his journey of life being at the top — President of the richest cricket board of the World.
Whether it is the players, administrators or competitors, Dalmiya earned immense respect from all. His contribution to Indian cricket is nothing less than that of Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar or Kapil Dev. They performed on the field, but away from the limelight, Dalmiya fought off the field battles.
Jagmohan Dalmiya was truly the godfather of Indian cricket.
May his soul rest in peace.
(Sandipan Banerjee is a reporter at CricketCountry. Cricket has been the biggest passion for him since his childhood. So, when it came to choosing his career, he chose to turn his passion into his profession. Apart from cricket he likes mountain trekking, river rafting, and photography. His twitter handle is @im_sandipan)
