The President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Jagmohan Dalmiya has passed away on Sunday evening at KM Birla hospital in Kolkata. He was 75.
The BCCI boss had suffered heart attack on Thursday and was under observation after undergoing a heart surgery.
Regarded as one of the greatest Indian sports administrators, Dalmiya became the BCCI president for a second stint in March this year, taking over from N Srinivasan. But with deteriorating health, the Kolkata-based businessman had been keeping away from the board meetings except for the very important ones.
The Indian cricket board condoled the “sudden demise” of the president.
Paying rich tribute to the departed soul, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur hailed Dalmiya as “the greatest sports administrator of India” and termed the loss a personal one for him.
Dalmiya had been president of the International Cricket Council, and held different offices in the Indian cricket board, and occupied top posts in the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) in a career that began in 1979.
“Mr. Dalmiya died of internal gastrointestinal bleeding and internal organ failure,” hospital sources said confirming the veteran cricket administrator’s death.
Cricket Association of Bengal sources added: “At 6 p.m. in the evening his condition deteriorated and shortly afterwards he suffered a massive cardiac arrest from which he could not recover.”
He is survived by a daughter and a son.
“BCCI Condoles the sudden demise of our president Shri Jagmohan Dalmiya”, the official handle of India’s apex cricket body tweeted.
According to sources, the BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur and IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla will reach Kolkata on Monday.
Dalmiya had first helmed BCCI from 2001-04. He was elected president again in March this year. And, under a changed BCCI constitution, he was to hold office for three straight years, until September 2017.
