The Rediff Profile / Niranjan Shah

HARESH PANDYA profiles Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Niranjan Shah

Niranjan Rasiklal Shah's elevation to the plum post of Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary is a classic example of how loyalties to the influential are handsomely rewarded in the murky affairs of Indian cricket.

Shah's unstinting support to A C Muthiah was, perhaps, unknown to anyone familiar with the game the BCCI bigwigs play off the field. Muthiah, the outgoing BCCI president who lost to Jagmohan Dalmiya by four votes, may have helped Shah realise his long-cherished dream by using his casting vote after he was tied at 15-15 with Jaywant Lele at the annual general meeting in Madras last month.

It is learnt from reliable sources that Shah was not even aware about his name being unanimously proposed for the key post by the Muthiah group. He was said to be on a business tour abroad then.

He may not admit it, but it is no secret that Shah always coveted the post that matters so much in Indian cricket. There was a marked degree of patience, perservance, positiveness and pragmatism in his long but successful march to power.

Being a diplomat, Shah knew only too well what fruits sustained loyalty and faithful waiting could bear. Shah, who is also the unchallenged secretary of Saurashtra Cricket Association for close to 30 years now, has served the BCCI on various committees in the past two decades. He had been a member of the Tour, Programmes & Fixtures Committee, Technical Committee, Finance Committee and Umpires' Committee.

When the late Madhavrao Scindia was BCCI president -- from 1990-91 to 1992-93, Shah was the joint secretary for the term 1992-93. He was very close to Scindia; so close that even in the last elections the late former Maharaj of Gwalior had cast his vote in his favour.

Interestingly, Shah had joined hands with I S Bindra, Dalmiya and Lele -- to name a few -- and formed an anti-establishment group in the early eighties. The group believed that some long-serving administrators had been enjoying "extraordinary powers" and ruling the BCCI in an "unashamedly undemocratic" manner. They felt their "authoritarian ways" and "monopolisation of the functioning" of the BCCI needed to be "challenged". According to Shah, their attitude was "more dictatorial than democratic". They were "very powerful" people and seemed to "take things for granted".

Shah had led an almost similar campaign when the Saurashtra Cricket Association was being dominated by a handful of "influential personalities", in the late sixties, and emerged with flying colours.

When the Indian team was to embark on the tour of England in 1983 for the third World Cup, the 'rebels' wanted their 'own' man as manager. This came as a surprise to the ruling administrators of the BCCI, who were planning to appoint someone from their own camp. Things came to such a head that the BCCI members had to exercise their franchise to decide who would be manager. While the 'authorities' fielded P R Mansingh of the Hyderabad Cricket Association, the 'rebels' were represented by Shah. In the end, Mansingh defeated Shah by a solitary vote and was named manager of the team that created history under Kapil Dev.

But no one could stop Shah from becoming the assistant manager of the national side on the long tour to Australia, in 1985-86, where Shah made many friends, including members of the Indian team, and also met the late Don Bradman.

"It was a rare, and hence the most cherished, moment of my life," recalls Shah. "We were obviously in awe of Sir Don but we found him so gentle, so humble. I, for one, could not believe my eyes that I was actually meeting the great man, even if momentarily."

An enlarged picture of Bradman and Shah together adorns the plush SCA office in Rajkot.

Shah was also in charge of the Zimbabwe squad during the 1996 Wills World Cup in the subcontinent. He subsequently managed the Indian team to Sharjah in 1998 and had many interesting tales to tell as our cricketers returned triumphant. His administrative and managerial skills were well-appreciated by the key players of the team.

Although Shah has seldom enjoyed happy relations with Lele, he had no problems with Bindra and Dalmiya. He is quick to remind those who talk about an on-going-on Dalmiya-Bindra rivalry: "Don't forget what Bindra and Dalmiya did for Indian cricket and cricketers in financial terms when they were president and secretary respectively."

And who will disagree with him?

However, the two friends turned foes after the 1996 showpiece event over a variety of issues -- not just money matters -- and it triggered the monster of groupism, which raised its ugly head again in Indian cricket.

Groupism is not new to Indians in any walk of life. But in the case of these two gentlemen, it, probably, has gone a bit too far; so far that Dalmiya and Bindra still keep fighting with each other even over trifle matters.

Shah, who has never been 'anti-Dalmiya' in the strict sense of the term, says he cannot recall how and when he became pro-Bindra and, subsequently, pro-Muthiah.

"Whether you call it groupism or rivalry, I think healthy opposition is always good for the health of any sports body, not just the BCCI. When you have no opposition, you tend to dictate terms in an undemocratic way," he emphasises.

Having rubbed shoulders with Dalmiya in the past while performing different administrative roles, Shah is not only confident, but certain that he will have no difficulty striking an amicable bond while working as a navigator with the former ICC president and new captain of the BCCI.

"We may have been from the two opposite camps, but I can assure you that everything is behind us now that the elections are over. We will work for a common cause, which is for the good of Indian cricket. It is time people stopped remembering the past. The idea is to look forward optimistically and with a positive frame of mind," avers Shah.

Shah, who did his B.Sc. (Chemistry) and L.L.B. from Saurashtra University, was born in Rajkot on June 4, 1944. He was always a promising student and a shrewd, successful businessman in the making. Although a distant cousin of former India spinner Dilip Doshi, Shah was not much interested in cricket until his late teens. He had the talent to be a good opening batsman and carve a niche for himself, but could not go beyond playing only 12 Ranji Trophy matches between 1965 and 1975.

"I tended to be choosy when to play and when not to. I was never so serious about my own cricket and my approach also was never professional. So I can't blame anyone in particular," admits Shah, who captained Saurashtra in the 1972-73 season.

Saurashtra may not have benefited much from Shah as a player but as an administrator he has brought many laurels to the region which prides itself on its glorious past in the game. After all, this is the very land which has given gems like K S Ranjitsinhji, K S Duleepsinhji, Amar Singh, L Ramji, Vinoo Mankad, Nyalchand Shah, Salim Durrani and Karsan Ghavri to the game of cricket.

If Rajkot, the headquarters of the SCA, finds itself on the international cricket map today, much of the credit should go to Shah. It was Shah who brought the1983 Irani Cup tie, between Karnataka and the Rest of India, to Rajkot. It opened the floodgates, and quality cricket in terms of hosting matches involving foreign teams started flowing even in this dry -- literally and figuratively -- area.

The SCA has, so far, hosted six ODIs in addition to Duleep, Deodhar and Wills Trophy matches, and also a couple of first-class fixtures featuring foreign teams, all at the Rajkot Municipal Corporation Cricket ground. And all this despite the SCA having no stadium of its own. Of course, the SCA is very keen since the last couple of years on building its own stadium and is now said to be negotiating the purchase of land on the outskirts of Rajkot. Now that Shah is also the BCCI secretary, cricket enthusiasts of Saurashtra are rightly expecting a good stadium in Rajkot.

Shah enjoys a good rapport with a number of Indian cricketers, past as well as present. In fact, there are many who always address him by his first name. He is known as elder brother among his SCA colleagues. Over the years he has learnt the art successfully dealing with the media too. Whether he will still be as friendly with the press and players remains to be seen although it is highly unlikely he will ever do what Lele repeatedly did in this context.

But like his predecessor, Shah may also find himself on a sticky wicket to begin with. No, this has nothing to do with Dalmiya being the new president of the BCCI. The point is nothing is going right for Indian cricket since the series win over Australia. With a couple of nightmarish tours behind us, and a few tougher series ahead, including the one against South Africa, things certainly can't be rosy for any member of the new administrative team.

The shrewd businessman that he is, Shah is in the printing line. He and Dilip Doshi, who lives in England, are business partners, and are into selling a classic pen from Germany. Some of his other cousins are in the newspaper business and own the Jai Hind (a prestigious Gujarati daily published simultaneously from Rajkot and Ahmedabad) group of publications.

A widower (he lost his wife in a road accident a few years ago), Shah is a caring father of Himani (25) and Jaidev (18). Like his father, Jaidev is a promising, young cricketer. An allrounder, Jaidev has already begun making a name for himself in district as well as national junior tournaments.

Although he doesn't seem to have any particular hobby, Shah lists reading -- "mainly novels and books on commerce and economics" he says -- and watching television among his interests.

Besides his much-trumpeted plan to restructure of the fees for domestic cricketers, Shah has many other plans to improve the image of Indian cricket. But he does not want to share them with others. "No, not yet," he chuckles. "I shall discuss them with my president and the new administrative team of the BCCI. Whatever decisions we take will be policy-based."

Without beating around the bush, Shah says he supports the existing concept of a five-man selection committee.

"Ours is a big country. We have so many states which are divided in several zones. So many youngsters play cricket in all parts of India. They have to be properly watched and analysed and assessed by many selectors. Taking into account all these factors, I think the five-man selection committee is the ideal way," he stresses.

"But I suppose the selectors should, at least, be first-class cricketers, as far as possible, although there can be exceptions in some cases when certain persons are knowledgeable. Selection of the right combination of players is such a tricky matter that sometimes even experienced Test players fail to bring about the desired results when put on the selection panel.

"The BCCI generally doesn't interfere in selection matters but I think the time has come now when it should review the performance of the selectors. They should be answerable, too," he adds.

Wouldn't he like to do something towards the improvement of wickets in India?

"The efforts have already been made in this direction. But we must try to win whenever there is a series in India, at least. Almost all the countries try to take advantage of their own wickets when they host a series or a tournament. The bowlers are generally accustomed to bowling well on their own pitches. So, if we are accustomed to spinners, why shouldn't we use them, prepare more spinning tracks and try to win? After all, winning is necessary. Of course, we will also try to make fast wickets. We've to," he replies.

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