Jaywant Lele, former secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) died of a massive heart attack at his residence in Vadodara on Thursday late night. Lele, 75, was survived by his wife, son and daughter. Lele held post of secretary at BCCI between 1997 and 2001, when Jagmohan Dalmiya was the president. His last rites were performed on Friday morning amid presence of cricketing personalities including Irfaan Pathan, Anshuman Gaekwad, Nayan Mongia and Kiran More.
Also, Lele was associated with Baroda Cricket Association (BCA), one of the oldest cricket bodies in the country for over 40 years. Being one of the veteran figures in India’s cricketing world, Lele was close to many senior cricketers and BCCI officials.
Also, Lele was associated with Baroda Cricket Association (BCA), one of the oldest cricket bodies in the country for over 40 years. Being one of the veteran figures in India’s cricketing world, Lele was close to many senior cricketers and BCCI officials.
Outspoken and spirited Lele has always remained a fatherly figure to many of the cricketing legends of India.
According to his family members, Lele wasn’t keeping well due to viral infection. However, the family had celebrated his 75th birthday on September 13 amid presence of cricketers like Gaekwad, More and Mongia.
Lele had also written an autobiography on his career as a cricket administrator since he himself has been witness to the country’s first match-fixing scandal in 2000 that involved famous players including former captain, Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Manoj Prabhakar and Ajay Sharma. Lele was the Secretary of BCCI then.
Off late, Lele had been critical of the present BCCI president N Srinivasan in the spot-fixing controversy in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013. He had criticized BCCI for having “double standards” by banning the accused players in the spot-fixing scam. He had strongly maintained that the President Srinivasan was “equally guilty.”