IS Bindra, ex-BCCI chief, passes away

Inderjit Singh Bindra, former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as well as the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), passed away following a prolonged illness on Sunday. He was 84. His condition deteriorated on Sunday evening, after which he breathed his last.

International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah also paid tributes on X, writing, “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.”

PCA joint secretary Siddhant Sharma expressed deep sorrow over the demise of the veteran cricket administrator. Bindra’s last rites will be performed in New Delhi on Monday.

Widely regarded as one of the Indian cricket’s most visionary administrators, Bindra played a pivotal role in transforming the BCCI into a professionally run and globally respected sports body. He served as the BCCI president from 1993 to 1996 and was at the helm of the Punjab Cricket Association for an extraordinary 36 years, from 1978 to 2014.

Between 2008 and 2010, he was appointed principal adviser to the ICC chief executive/president, serving as a key aide to Sharad Pawar during the latter’s tenure at the ICC, further strengthening India’s influence in global cricket administration.

He was best remembered for his role in organising the 1987 World Cup — then known as the Reliance Cup — in India and it was the first time the global event was moved out of England after the 1975, 1979 and 1983 editions. He managed the coup in the company of his close friend late Jagmohan Dalmiya and then BCCI chief NKP Salve, and it opened the Indian television market to the new possibilities of cricket marketing.

One of his most enduring legacies in Punjab cricket was the creation of an international-standard stadium in Mohali—an idea he conceptualised and personally steered in the early 1990s. In recognition of his contribution, the PCA Stadium was renamed as the IS Bindra Stadium in 2015.

In 1994, Bindra had approached the Supreme Court to break the monopoly of Doordarshan in cricket broadcasting. A favourable verdict from the apex court helped Bindra and his team bring global companies like ESPN and TWI to the Indian market, which soon expanded to be the biggest in the world.

However, his official life was not without its share of bitter moments as the support he gave to Lalit Modi after the spot-fixing saga in the IPL earned him his share of brickbats. Bindra also played a pivotal role in the appointment of Haroon Lorgat as the Cricket South Africa CEO, and that move too did not win him many friends. But overall, Bindra remained one of the architects of modern Indian cricket from a commercial perspective. (With PTI inputs)