Judge officials by work and not by name, says Jaydev
CHENNAI: It is said that Niranjan Shah’s reign of over 40 years as Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) secretary was one of the reasons that prompted the Lodha commission to frame rules on tenure and cooling-off period for cricket administrators. As new president of the association, son Jaydev is also subject to comments that he would not have gotten this important seat if Niranjan wasn’t his father.
A former batsman who retired last year and one of the rare first-class captains to head a state body in India, Jaydev takes adverse remarks in stride and wants to chart his own course. One of the youngest cricket administrators in the country (36), he sees nothing wrong in succeeding his father in an administrative position.
“My father should be judged by the work he did. SCA is one of the best associations in the country, financially as well as in terms of infrastructure. During his time, we produced Test cricketers and became a formidable domestic team,” said Jaydev.
“This wouldn’t have been possible had a coaching system or selection process not been in place. We should see what happened in this period, instead of pointing fingers at the person who was in charge. Because my father was the SCA secretary, it doesn’t mean I can’t take up a position in the body after him.”
As a representative of the new generation of cricket administrators, Jaydev shares with others the responsibility to rebuild the image of an establishment that has made news for wrong reasons for several years. He feels that improvement in cricket is the best way to silence critics.
“If you notice, the standard of Indian cricket has only risen despite what has happened off the field. That should be our priority, helping better standards at the top level as well as at the grassroots. If we do that, we will succeed in our first objective. At the SCA level, my aim is to spread the game further and construct an indoor stadium, a first of its kind in India.”