‘Amol Kale came as a phoenix to Mumbai cricket’

The floral and pictorial arrangement for the condolence meeting to pay homage to MCA president Amol Kale at Wankhede Stadium on Monday. Pic/Mumbai Cricket Association

Terming the recent passing away of Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) president Amol Kale a "shocking exit,"

Sharad Pawar, Ashish Shelar and Ravi Savant (all former MCA chiefs) paid homage to the late Kale, who succumbed to a cardiac arrest on June 10.

A condolence meeting was organised by the MCA on Monday evening. Kale had watched the India versus Pakistan T20 World Cup game in New York before his death.

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Former MCA secretary Prof Ratnakar Shetty paying tribute to the late Amol Kale. Pic/Mumbai Cricket Association

All cricket administrators present at the condolence meeting credited Kale, 47, for doing remarkable work in a very short span of time in office - less than two years.

Former BCCI administrator and ex-MCA secretary Ratnakar Shetty said Kale won the hearts of Mumbai cricketers. "I always felt that he [Kale] came as a phoenix to Mumbai cricket. He was honest and wanted to do something. In one and a half years as [MCA] president he did a lot. A person coming from Nagpur, no connection whatsoever with Mumbai cricket, but winning the hearts of cricketers and cricket people who were connected with cricket whether they are coaches or selectors at different levels and trying to ensure Mumbai cricketers get the best, he succeeded in that. It's too early for him to leave us," Shetty said at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.

Former Mumbai captain, chief selector and current cricket advisor Milind Rege recalled how Kale insisted that he becomes MCA's cricket advisor, just a day after he became MCA president by defeating India's 1983 World Cup-winning team member Sandeep Patil in October 2022.

"Like there is a captain in cricket [team], who is a players captain, Amolji was a cricketers president. There was nothing like ‘no' in his dictionary. He used to say, ‘let's do it, we will do it'. And you all are seeing the fruits of that - Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy [in 2023-24] and there are chances for Mumbai cricket to grow further," Rege said.