Dilip Vengsarkar, Sharad Pawar praise Prof Ratnakar Shetty’s role in Indian cricket

Former BCCI president Sharad Pawar releases Prof Ratnakar Shetty’s book at Wankhede yesterday. Pic/Bipin Kokate

There was nothing but high praise for Prof Ratnakar Shetty, the veteran cricket administrator, whose book On Board, My Years in BCCI was released at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.

Former India captain and ex-chairman of selectors, Dilip Vengsarkar called Shetty an encyclopaedia of Indian cricket administration. "His passion and honesty for the game have helped him to take 100 per cent correct decisions. He was always punctual and ready to help. His focus was on the job and was always well-prepared. He got immense respect from cricketers, which is quite rare as cricketers are not very fond of administrators. It's because of his love for cricketers [that he got so much respect].

He is an encyclopaedia in cricket administration," said Vengsarkar, one of the dignitaries on the dias during the launch.

Massive role

Veteran politician Sharad Pawar, who has played a massive role in Indian cricket administration as president of Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), BCCI and ICC, provided a peek into Shetty's work ethic. "When I became president of the ICC [in 2010], I offered Prof Shetty a job there. He refused, saying his commitment was with the MCA and BCCI. He was also one of the main reasons for the success of the 2011 World Cup," said Pawar, who released the book.

Praise for Pawar

Shetty, an ex-chemistry professor at Wilson College, took up the BCCI role on a full-time basis in 2006. He highlighted the contribution of four of his most-admired BCCI presidents - Jagmohan Dalmiya, Pawar, Shashank Manohar and N Srinivasan. "Pawar's biggest contributions have been taking women's cricket under the BCCI wing, starting a pension scheme for cricketers and most importantly, including widows of cricketers in the scheme. And the IPL wouldn't have started if he wasn't there," said Shetty.

He also credited Vengsarkar for fast-tracking Virat Kohli into the Indian team. "He was one of the best chairmen of selectors. He had an eye for talent. It was Vengsarkar who pushed Kohli into the Indian team when he returned from the U-19 World Cup [2008]," said Shetty.