Nagpur's Kale in race for Mumbai Cricket Association's prez post

Lokmat News Network

Be it Br. Sheshrao Wankhede, NKP Salve or Adv Shashank Manohar, Nagpurians have always played an important role in national cricket administration. Now Amol Kale, who hails from Abhyankar Nagar in Nagpur, is contesting Mumbai Cricket Association's (MCA) elections. Kale is contesting against former national cricketer Sandip Patil for the MCA president's post.

Kale, who was earlier the vice president of MCA, has the backing of former BCCI chief and NCP national president Sharad Pawar and Mumbai BJP chief and MLA Adv Ashish Shelar. Therefore he is very confident of victory.

Speaking about his chances in the MCA polls with Lokmat Times, Kale who is a childhood friend of deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, said, “I am very confident of my victory. I have the support of experienced people like Sharad Pawar and Ashish Shelar. Apart from them, Shiv Sena's Milind Narvekar and NCP's Jitendra Awhad are also with us. Our panel will win the election with a huge margin,” he said.

Asked what prompted him to contest the MCA polls, Kale, a businessman, said, “ Being the vice president of MCA for three years, I closely watched the Mumbai cricket. I have been active in sports and social fields for quite a long time. I think there is a lot to be done in the sports field. When I was asked to contest the polls for the president's post, I was well prepared,” he said.

Though they are rivals in the elections, Kale respects former Team India coach Sandip Patil. “ He was a good cricketer and is a nice human being too. But to play cricket and work as an administrator are two different things. Let's see what happens,” Kale added. Kale said that if elected his priority would be to develop cricket at school, college and office level. "There is a lot to be done in women's cricket also,” he said.

Kale also suggested that all state associations, including MCA and Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA), should play more matches against each other during the domestic off season. “It will help them to develop cricket. The more matches you play, the more players you develop. Mumbai has a glorious history in domestic cricket. It has always been ahead of others at all levels. Club cricket is very popular in Mumbai. In fact, other state associations should follow Mumbai's club cricket model,” he said.

Total of 356 members, as per the list declared by the MCA, will vote on October 20 in the election. It includes representatives of 211 clubs, 34 schools and colleges, 68 office clubs and 43 former international cricketers.