How Jagmohan Dalmiya Commercialized Cricket (Part 1)

These days, sports like football, baseball, basketball, and soccer are huge commercial ecosystems. In 2006, Nimbus Communications bought digital media rights for Indian cricket for $612 million in a four-year global deal, underscoring cricket’s status gain in the big-money world of sports marketing. Cricket, however, owes its commercial maturity to Jagmohan Dalmiya. Read ‘Cricket Reaches Commercial Maturity’ for more background.

SM: Let’s begin with some of your background in cricket. Where does your passion for cricket come from?

JD: I used to play when I was younger. I played at the university level as well as at the first division club level. I was pursuing my cricket career very seriously and didn’t focus too much on a business career. Unfortunately, I lost my father when I was 19. Since I had no siblings I had no choice but to take over the family business. As a result, I did not play cricket for the next three or four years.

When I came to the business world I really did not know what I was doing. I was fortunate that my father had left me a lot. I was able to afford losing some money while I learned the ins and outs of business. Ultimately, after three or four years in the business world, I knew I wanted to come back to cricket. I truly missed playing and knew I wanted to be involved with the sport somehow.

I joined the Rajasthan club in Calcutta. While I was playing on the weekends, I started pursuing an administrative role during the week. A lot of clubs in different cities had a few smaller administrative roles. I never imagined I would be an administrator of a small club, but there I was doing it! There were definitely challenges in that position. The parent body was the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), which is often called Bengal Cricket, and there was quite a bit of tension between them and our Rajasthan club. For various reason we felt the Rajasthan club was always given a raw deal. Because of that I decided to run for president of CAB.

SM: What year are we talking?

JD: This was in 1977. Then we had elections in 1978.

SM: They were CAB elections?

JD: Yes, and I won by a very comfortable margin. I became the treasurer in 1978. Back then the terms were four year terms, so I was there for four years as the president of CAB. After that I had to move out of office so I became the secretary for four years. I then became the vice president for four years. I just alternated offices, one after another without any breaks, so I could stay involved with the leadership of CAB. Eventually they changed the rules specifically so that I could serve as the president as long as I wanted. Ultimately I was there for 13 years consecutively.

Using the Bengal constituency, I ran in elections for the Board of Control for Cricket in India/Indian Cricket Control Board (BCCI). I became the treasurer in 1985. In 1991 I became the secretary, and I finally became the president in 2001. From there I used the BCCI as a platform to become the president of Asian Cricket Council, after which I then became the secretary of Asian Cricket Council. I was also president of the Afro-Asian Council. I eventually became the president of the International Cricket Council (ICC). That was historic because I was the first Indian to hold that position.

This segment is part 1 in the series : How Jagmohan Dalmiya Commercialized Cricket
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