New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS) Former Indian cricket board secretary Jaywawant Lele passed away in Vaodadara.
Lele was 75. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. Lele suffered a heart-attack at his residence.
Lele, who celebrated his 75th birthday Sep 13, was suffering from viral infection. Lele recently wrote an autobiography on his career as a cricket administrator.
Lele’s tenure as the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India conincided with the match-fixing scandal in 2000.
He served as the BCCI’s assistant secretary and later took over the reins as the secretary when Jagmohan Dalmiya, also a former president of the board, vecame the president of the International Cricket Council in 1996.
Lele was a strong critic of current BCCI president Narayanaswami Srinivasan.
Srinivasan, however, paid rich tributes to Lele.
“I am shocked to hear of the sad demise of Mr. Jaywant Lele. He was associated with the BCCI for nearly three decades, representing the Baroda Cricket Association. He served as Hony. Jt. Secretary and Hony. Secretary of the board for almost a decade. He was also part of the BCCI’s Umpires’ Panel. We shall miss him. May his soul rest in peace,” he said.
BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said he was saddened with Lele’s death.
“The BCCI is saddened by the news of Mr. Jaywant Lele’s demise. He was an astute administrator, who served the board with distinction for several years. On behalf of the BCCI, I would like to extend my condolences to his near and dear ones. May his soul rest in peace,” he said.
Lele was a qualified umpire and a club level cricketer before rising through the BCCI ranks. He was the secretary during the toughest phase in Indian cricket.
It was during his tenure as the BCCI secretary that the board set up the Justice Chandrachud Commission to investigate the match-fixing charges after South African captain Hansie Cronje was banned for life following his admission of fixing matches.
The board then also asked the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) to investigate the matter after Cronje named several cricketers, including Mohammad Azharuddin, in the racket.
The scandal led to the life bans on Azharuddin and Ajay Sharma and five-year bans on Ajay Jadeja and Manoj Prabhakar.