CHENNAI: Two days ahead of his 39th birthday, India’s most successful captain MS Dhoni finally became a life member of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) on Sunday. This means the former India skipper is now eligible to vote in the JSCA elections.
Dhoni couldn’t cast his vote in the previous poll held on September 22, 2019, because he was an honorary member then and didn’t have voting right. No election, however, is due in the immediate future. It took the JSCA almost nine months to get this done. After the elections, the managing committee had a discussion on September 27 last year.
An official announcement was made at the annual general meeting in Jamshedpur on October 31. Despite that, Dhoni’s name was not included in the revised list. It was only on Sunday that the process was completed and Dhoni’s name came up in the list of life members on the JSCA website. “Those interested in life membership have to apply and pay the requisite fees. Dhoni’s case was different and hence the committee of management initiated the process last year.
It was formally announced at the AGM but the process took time because we were awaiting a few documents, which we eventually got in March,” Sanjay Sahay, JSCA secretary, said. “The nationwide lockdown in March further delayed the process. The list has to be approved by the office-bearers including the president and secretary. We have uploaded the list on the website,” Sahay added. According to the JSCA constitution, persons residing in the state of Jharkhand above the age of 18 enrolled as members as per Rule 3 can become life members.
It also says that former international cricketers (men and women) hailing from the state shall automatically be inducted as life members. Rule 3 also says that applications for life membership shall be submitted to the secretary in the prescribed form with a fee of Rs 10,000. The list contains 645 names and Dhoni’s name is last in it. His membership number is 1951. Other prominent cricketers, who hail from the state and have the membership, are Varun Aaron, Saurabh Tiwary and Shahbaz Nadeem. Interestingly, a few of them voted in the election last year.