Jagmohan Dalmiya: The Indian Who Broke White Domination In World Cricket

 Jagmohan Dalmiya, 75, perhaps the strongest man in Indian cricket administration, died in Kolkata on Sunday. Mr Dalmiya had been rushed to BM Birla Hospital on Thursday evening with complaints of chest pain. He underwent an angioplasty but on Sunday, his condition deteriorated. (Tributes pour in after Dalmiya's demise)

Mr Dalmiya was synonymous in the power game of cricket and hardly ever faced a defeat in complex board room battles in cricket.  (Dalmiya dies after massive heart attack)

Dalmiya was born into a Marwari Bania family in Kolkata. He studied at the Scottish Church College and started his career as a wicketkeeper, playing for cricket clubs (including his college team) in Calcutta. He joined his father's firm ML Dalmiya and Co. and made it into one of India's top construction firms. His firm constructed Calcutta's M.P.Birla Planetarium in 1963.

From his days as treasurer of the BCCI in 1983 to becoming the man who dominated the administration of world cricket, he was the symbol of India's clout on the big stage.

When he became the treasurer of the BCCI, he transformed India's fortunes totally. Along with Inderjit Singh Bindra, Mr Dalmiya shifted the focus of the cricketing world towards the sub-continent.

The duo won the ICC's nod to host the 1987 and then the 1996 World Cups in the Indian sub-continent. Both events were a commercial success that established the financial power of the region.

After making the 1996 World Cup one of the most profitable tournaments, Mr Dalmiya aimed at the big spot, the International Cricket Council, or ICC. He failed to attain the two-thirds majority necessary under the ICC Constitution even though he received 23 votes to 13 for Australia's Malcolm Gray in an election for the president's job.

In 1997, Mr Dalmiya was unanimously chosen as president of the ICC and went on to redesign the cricket world for the next three years. During his reign as ICC boss, India became the hub of world cricket -- much to the envy of the major players.

In 2001, when India toured South Africa, ICC referee and former England captain Mike Denness found Sachin Tendulkar and five more Indian players guilty of a technical breach of the rules. While Tendulkar was charged with tampering the ball, Virender Sehwag was fined for showing dissent at the umpire's decision.

Harbhajan Singh, Deep Dasgupta and Shiv Sunder Das were reprimanded for excessive appealing and captain Sourav Ganguly was accused of not being able to control his players. All the players were fined 75 percent of their match fees and received one Test match bans.

The then ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed decided to back Denness while BCCI president Dalmiya decided to back his players.

The result was an overwhelming win for the master 'politician' - the third Test became an unofficial one, the ban on Sehwag was upheld but Tendulkar and Ganguly were let off. Denness' career was all but over. The former England batsman served as match referee in only two more Tests and three ODIs and was not reappointed by the ICC the following year.

Often described as a 'control freak', Mr Dalmiya was ousted from the BCCI in 2006 for alleged misappropriation of funds and refusing to provide certain documents. There was a lull after that storm and he had slipped under the radar.

He however, was back as a major player in June 2013, when he was appointed as the interim president of the BCCI after N. Srinivasan stepped aside in connection to the probe on his son-in-law's alleged involvement in spot-fixing.

Dalmiya was synonymous in the power game of cricket and hardly faced defeat in complex board room battles in cricket. From his days as treasurer of the BCCI in 1983 to becoming the man who dominated the administration of world cricket, Dalmiya was the symbol of India's clout on the big stage.

When he became the treasurer of the BCCI, he transformed India's fortunes totally. Along with Inderjit Singh Bindra, Dalmiya, shifted the cricketing focus towards the sub-continent. The duo won the ICC's nod to host the 1987 and then the 1996 World Cups in the Indian sub-continent. Both events were a commercial success that established the financial power of the region.

After making the 1996 World Cup as one of the most profitable tournaments, Dalmiya aimed at the big spot, the ICC. He failed to attain the two-thirds majority necessary under the ICC Constitution even though he received 23 votes to 13 for Australia's Malcolm Gray in an election for the president's job.

The then ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed decided to back Denness while BCCI president Dalmiya decided to back his players. The result was an overwhelming win for the master 'politician' - the third Test became an unofficial one, the ban on Sehwag was upheld but Tendulkar and Ganguly were let off. Denness' career was all but over. The former England batsman served as match referee in only two more Tests and three ODIs and was not reappointed by the ICC the following year.

Often described as a 'control freak' Dalmiya was ousted from the BCCI in 2006 for alleged misappropriation of funds and refusing to provide certain documents. There was a lull after that storm and Dalmiya had slipped under the radar. However, he was back as a major player in June 2013, when he was appointed as the interim president of the BCCI after N. Srinivasan stepped aside pertaining to the probe on his son-in-law's alleged involvement in spot-fixing.