Amitabh Chaudhary, the former acting secretary of BCCI and chairman of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA), died of a heart attack on Tuesday morning. He was 58. A retired senior IPS officer, who rose to the rank of IGP in the Jharkhand Police Department, the former top cop was also the chairman of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC).
“Deeply saddened by the news of the sudden passing of former JPSC chairman Shri Amitabh Chaudhary. Former IPS officer Amitabh ji played an important role in the development of cricket in the state. May his soul rest in peace and condolences and strength to his family in this hour of sorrow,” tweeted Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren.
Chaudhary, an IIT Kharagpur alumnus, was instrumental in gaining first-class status for Jharkhand after BCCI dissolved the Bihar Cricket Association during the tenure of the late Jagmohan Dalmiya in the early part of the new millennium.
When Jharkhand got official FC status, Mahendra Singh Dhoni transferred from Bihar and represented the state till the end of his career.
Chaudhary was also instrumental in building one of the finest cricket stadiums in Ranchi and should be considered instrumental in bringing international cricket and IPL to the industrial city.
He had also served as joint secretary of the BCCI and was administrative manager with the Indian team on several occasions.
His most difficult assignment, however, was the tour of Zimbabwe in 2005, where the much-discussed feud between former captain Sourav Ganguly and then-coach Greg Chappell took place.
In fact, it was during that infamous tour that Chappell sent the email to BCCI president Sharad Pawar advising the exclusion of Ganguly and a host of other senior players.
Chaudhary’s tenure as Acting Secretary coincided with Indian cricket’s darkest administrative period when the Committee of Trustees (CoA) was in charge.
Chaudhary was not allowed to function by the COA and it often led to a lot of bitterness.
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Chaudhary was a great storyteller, however, and often on the sidelines of various BCCI gatherings, he treated his audience to stories that would split anyone in half.
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
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