03 January,2017 12:48 PM IST | | Clayton Murzello
Balvinder Singh Sandhu, who opted to be a coach in his post-playing days, welcomed the clean-up in Indian cricket, but had a sympathetic view towards genuine cricket administrators including ones with political backgrounds
BS Sandhu
Balvinder Singh Sandhu, the 1983 World Cupper, who opted to be a coach in his post-playing days, welcomed the clean-up in Indian cricket, but had a sympathetic view towards genuine cricket administrators including ones with political backgrounds.
Ajay Shirke
'Sad to see Ajay go'
Sandhu was sad to see the departure of Indian cricket board secretary Ajay Shirke whom the Supreme Court ordered out along with president Anurag Thakur yesterday. Sandhu and Shirke worked closely when the former India swing bowler was Maharashtra's state coach, a period which coincided with Shirke's first steps in cricket administration in the state. "Ajay is a good administrator. He always did good for the game of cricket and stood out with his no-nonsense approach," Sandhu told mid-day.
Job well done
"He changed cricket in Maharashtra in a way and ensured the game was looked after better than earlier at the district level. I reckon he did a good job with Maharashtra and Indian cricket. Remember, he resigned (as BCCI treasurer) on principle when the spot fixing scandal broke out. "Ajay was very approachable and if you disagreed with him, you could tell him so on his face. Anurag too is a good administrator. Unfortunately, he got into the mess of BCCI politics. He had to support his colleagues," remarked Sandhu.
The Lodha Committee reforms also spelled doom for politicians, but Sandhu stressed that not all politicians were detrimental to the game.
"Men like NKP Salve, Madhavrao Scindia and Sharad Pawar contributed a lot to the game while other politicians occupied seats in the Board for their benefit. I don't think cricketers could have built infrastructure like what Pawar did," Sandhu said.
