How did Jagmohan Dalmiya establish Asian might in the ICC?

Before Dada (Sourav Ganguly), there was a Jaggu Dada (Jagmohan Dalmiya)- two trailblazers for Indian Cricket. While the former was a cricketer, the latter was an administrator with a cricketing heart. Incidentally, both were from Bengal. As Ganguly brought in the spunk and belligerence in the Indian team, Jagmohan Dalmiya broke the mold, taking Indian cricket and BCCI for that matter, to an unprecedented height of supremacy.

The rich tributes paid to Jagmohan Dalmiya from the worldwide cricketing fraternity on his passing away is generous acknowledgment of his estimable administrative qualities. When he first put forth the idea of turning cricket into a billion-dollar sport, the English and the Australians in the ICC were skeptical and dismissive. Nevertheless, his shrewd Marwari business acumen was at work and what he achieved out of it still boggles many minds.

Jagmohan Dalmiya was a visionary. He knew how to democratize cricket. He managed to bring the 1987 world cup to India and Pakistan when it was least expected. England was aghast for being deprived of hosting the world cup, which it felt was its birthright. It was a historic moment with far-reaching impact on global cricket. Cricket had broken away from the white dominance.

He freed the airwaves rights from the monopoly of national broadcaster Doordarshan, ensuing a bitter legal battle that also put his reputation at risk. But, he stuck to his guns. Finally, the court ruled in favor of BCCI- a watershed judgment that heralded an era of commercial liberation for Indian cricket.

An anti status-quoist, Dalmiya shook the BCCI officials off their stupor and broke new grounds as an administrator. He wanted cricket to move beyond the boundaries of few select big stadiums in the country. By allocating matches to the smaller cities, which could host one-day internationals, he triggered the transformation of cricketing venues all across the country.

But of all, revitalizing the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) proved to be a masterstroke since it ensured assertiveness of Asian countries in the ICC. He was astute in his move as he very well knew the maximum money was in the subcontinent. He needed more cricketing activities to be taking place in this part of the land so as to further consolidate the audience base and generate more revenue in return.

He built a unified voting bloc with the help of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to elicit decisions in their favor. With the support of associate members, he once again brought the world cup to subcontinent in 1996. It was a game changing moment that produced a windfall of money for the ICC and the host nations. ICC Knockout Trophy, now Champions Trophy played in 1998 in Bangladesh, followed it. During his tenure both as ICC and BCCI president, he managed to hold ICC Championship Trophy in third world countries three out of four times. Bangladesh was awarded test playing nation status under his stewardship in 2000.

To keep the Asian Cricket Council intact, he put good use of his diplomatic maneuvering. Although he was not fully successful in immunizing cricket from political crashes, it was creditable on his part to organize Indo-Pak series in 1999 and 2004 despite the seething political tension between the two nations.

It was none but Dalmiya, who made possible the participation of India and Pakistan to play in the Independence cup against Bangladesh- a country over which the two nations have fought a vicious war. If not for Dalmiya, the 1996 world cup could have thrown into disarray following the refusal of Australia and West Indies to play in Srilanka due to security reasons. Dalmiya assured the ICC that Srilanka was safe to play cricket by sending a joint Indo-Pak team to play in Srilanka.

With a gritty resolve and an affable smile, Jagmohan Dalmiya defied all odds. His detractors wanted him to fail in every decision he took but he kept emerging successful. He was not to give up, under no circumstances.  Hounded out of BCCI by Sharad Pawar factions on allegation of corruption charges in 2006, Dalmiya patiently bid for his time. He won the case in court and plotted to claw back into BCCI again.

Nobody expected it, but he was selected as consensual President of BCCI for the second time. Unceremonious exit of S. Srinivasan following a court directive has made his ground clear once again, but, this time his failing health cheated on him.

He died while still being the President of BCCI, a job so dear to him. It was only cricket that defined him and he paid back to it in style and aplomb by revolutionizing the game forever.

Tanwirul Hasan