Meet the newly appointed BCCI administrators

Vinod Rai:

Originally from Lucknow, Rai was a 1972 batch Kerala civil service cadre official and started his career as the sub-collector of Thrissur District. Before his retirement, he had worked for the federal government in various capacities of an IAS officer. In the year 2008, Rai took up the mantle of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). He is the current chairman of UN Panel of External Auditors and Honorary Advisor to the Railways and a member of the Railway Kaya Kalp Council.

American business magazine Forbes described him as one of the rare breeds of civil servants who knows how to get work done in the government. Although then finance minister P. Chidambaram had backed him to be the CAG of India, Rai didn’t hesitate to bring the report on the issue of Licenses and Allocation of 2G Spectrum by the UPA government which resulted in a huge controversy in India.

Apart from 2G scam report, Padma Bhushan awardee Rai was also instrumental in preparing the CWG scam report, Coalgate scam report, and Padmanabhaswamy Temple Audit. Known for his upright stance and strict discipline, it remains to be seen how much value he can bring into the management of the BCCI.

Ramachandra Guha:

Noted cricket historian Ramachandra Guha, who has been appointed as a member of the committee, has been a columnist for publications like The Telegraph and The Hindustan Times. His book ‘A Corner of a Foreign Field: The Indian History of a British Sport’ gained wide acceptance all over the world. Guha was a university cricketer and regularly features at the Ranji Trophy games at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. 

Guha has been pretty sardonic towards the Indian Premier League, which he feels is a perfect example of crony capitalism.

He has once said to PTI, “The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, played between state sides, should be upgraded, making it the flagship Twenty20 tournament in the country. Then the clubs and state associations that have run our domestic game reasonably well for the past 80 years would be given back their authority, and the crooks and the moneybags turfed out altogether. Even now, in every city and town in India, there are selfless cricket coaches and administrators active, nurturing young talent, supervising matches and leagues. The way to save Indian cricket is to allow these (people) to take charge once more.”

He has taught at the universities of Yale and Stanford, held the Arne Naess Chair at the University of Oslo and has also been a visiting professor at the University of California. His Book ‘A Corner of a Foreign Field: The Indian History of a British Sport’ is an inspired approach to the colonial and post-colonial Indian history.  

Diana Edulji:

Former India women cricket team captain Diana Edulji is the only cricketer in the committee, and has the experience of 20 Tests and 34 One-day matches in a career spanning over 17 years, from 1976 to 1993. For the better part of that period, Edulji was the captain of the Indian women’s team and considered as one of the finest left-arm spinners of her time, ending up with 63 Test wickets and 46 wickets in ODIs. 

Edulji had served on the BCCI's women's committee and was the manager of the Indian women's team in 2009. For her sporting achievement, she received the Arjuna Award in 1983 and India's fourth highest civilian award Padma Shri in 2002. 

She is also a part of the four-member steering committee, led by former union home secretary GK Pillai that has been tasked with the responsibility of setting up a players' association.

Vikram Limaye:

A banker by profession, Vikram Limaye is the Managing Director and CEO of Infrastructure Development Finance Company Limited (IDFC). Although he has been a fan of tennis from his childhood, cricket still remains a deep-rooted passion. 

During his tenure with IDFC, Limaye has also been associated with various committees of government in matters relating to markets, infrastructure, economy and foreign direct investment among other things.