Kolkata: Nearly six-and-half years after he was ignominiously expelled from the cricket board, and forced to quit as Cricket Association of Bengal president, Jagmohan Dalmiya has risen like the proverbial phoenix to yet again head the world's richest cricket body, albeit temporarily.
Even days back, as the raging spot fixing scandal rocked Indian cricket, nobody had an inkling that the seasoned sports administrator - credited with having changed the face of the game through his marketing skills - would make a comeback at the top of Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI).
However, he seemed to have played his cards well, working on a beleaguered and gradually friendless BCCI chief N. Srinivasan, to elevate himself to the apex position in the BCCI.
But, midway into the last decade, it seemed almost next to impossible for the astute administrator to be in any kind of reckoning following his abrupt fall in the cricket administration.
After serving a tenure as International Cricket Council chief for three years since 1997, Dalmiya became BCCI president in 2001 and continued to be the all-in-all in the board till his tenure ended in 2004.
Late that year, Dalmiya foisted his acolyte Ranbir Singh Mahendra as BCCI president in a tantalizingly close election where then union minister Sharad Pawar threw his hat into the ring for the top post.
As the election ended in a tie, Dalmiya gave his casting vote to ensure Mahendra's victory, prompting a dejected Pawar to remark that the entire process was unfair.
"The umpire was the bowler," Pawar had quipped after his loss.
Dalmiya then controlled the board by proxy for a year, with Mahendra being a mere puppet. But the Pawar camp fought back by using all means - court battles, political pressure, and other strategies - to checkmate Dalmiya at his own game in the 2005 election.
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