Tributes Pour In as IS Bindra, Ex-BCCI President, Dies at 84

New Delhi:

Inderjit Singh Bindra, former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), passed away on Sunday, January 21. He was 84 and is survived by a son and a daughter. 

Bindra was a renowned cricket administrator and served as the BCCI president from 1993 to 1996. He was also the Punjab Cricket Association president from 1978 to 2014. ICC chairman and ex-BCCI secretary Jay Shah condoled the death of the administrator. 

“Deepest condolences on the passing of Mr I S Bindra, former BCCI president and a stalwart of Indian cricket administration. May his legacy inspire future generations. Om Shanti,” Shah wrote on X.

Bindra organised 1987 World Cup, the first outside England

As Shah noted, Bindra was a towering figure in Indian cricket administration. He began his journey as an official in 1975. Bindra organised the 1987 World Cup, which marked the first time the tournament was held outside England after the 1975, 1979 and 1983 editions. The tournament was co-hosted by India and Pakistan and was then called the Reliance Cup.

Bindra played an instrumental role in transforming Indian cricket by unlocking new commercial and broadcasting opportunities, working alongside close friend Jagmohan Dalmiya and then BCCI chief NKP Salve. He later served as principal advisor to the ICC during Sharad Pawar’s tenure as president and retired from cricket administration in 2014.

Bindra ended Doordarshan’s cricket broadcasting monopoly

In 1994, Bindra approached the Supreme Court of India to end Doordarshan’s monopoly over cricket broadcasting. The favourable ruling paved the way for global broadcasters such as ESPN and TWI to enter India, eventually turning it into the world’s largest cricket market.

His career, however, was not without controversy. Bindra faced criticism for backing Lalit Modi in the aftermath of the IPL spot-fixing scandal and for his role in appointing Haroon Lorgat as CEO of Cricket South Africa. Despite these setbacks, Bindra is widely regarded as one of the key architects of modern Indian cricket from a commercial standpoint.

In 2015, the PCA stadium was renamed as the IS Bindra Stadium as a tribute to his inspiring work as an administrator.

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