Diana Edulji, the Cricketer Trusted to Run BCCI

Here’s a look at the five things you should know about BCCI’s new administrator Diana Edulji.

The Supreme Court finally named the persons, who will run the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) until fresh elections are held by the board.

First, the amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium and senior legal counsel Anil Diwan were asked to submit a list of people who could be eligible to administrate the BCCI.

Subramanium and Diwan submitted their list consisting of nine names on 24 January (date of the previous hearing), but the court showed concerns over some of the 70-year-olds in the list.

Then, the BCCI, some state associations, and the federal government were asked to give three names each by 27 January.

While eminent cricketers like Bishan Singh Bedi and Mohinder Amarnath were expected to administrate BCCI, the Supreme Court appointed the former India women captain Diana Edulji as one of the administrators on Monday.

Along with Edulji, the former Comptroller and Auditor General of India Vinod Rai, the historian and cricket writer Ramachandra Guha, and the CEO and managing director of IDFC (Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation) Vikram Limaye were also appointed.

Here’s a look at the five things you should know about Diana Edulji.

1. Current Age and Last Match For India

Diana Edulji turned 61 years on 26 January. The Mumbai woman, who played 20 Tests and 34 ODIs for India, played her last Test match against Australia in 1991 and her last ODI against Denmark in 1993.

The left-arm orthodox bowler picked up 63 wickets and 46 wickets in Tests and ODIs respectively.

2. Part of First Ever Indian Women’s Cricket Team

The right-hand batter was part of the first ever Indian women’s team. India played their first Test against West Indies at Bangalore in 1976. The Test was drawn and the six-match series was also drawn 1-1.

Edulji picked 17 wickets in the series. She was the second highest wicket-taker in the series behind Shubhangi Kulkarni.

The Mumbai cricketer was also the third Indian Test captain after Shanta Rangaswamy and Nilima Jogalekar. She led India in four Tests.

3. First ODI Captain For India’s Women’s Cricket Team

Diana Edulji was given the responsibility of leading India’s first ever women’s ODI team in the Women's World Cup in 1978.

India played their first ODI against England at Eden Gardens, Calcutta. The Indian women lost the match by nine wickets and subsequently lost the other two matches in the tournament to New Zealand and Australia respectively.

She led India in 18 ODIs.

4. Highest Wicket-Taker For India

The left-arm bowler, who finished with 63 wickets in her Test career, still holds the record of most wickets taken by an Indian woman bowler in Tests.

Edulji bowled at an average of 25.77 and recorded best match figures of 6/64.

The Mumbai woman, who also played for Railways, is only behind England’s Mary Duggan and Australia’s Betty Wilson, in the all-time wicket-taking list.

5. Arjuna and Padma Shri Awardee

Edulji is the first woman cricketer to be given the Arjuna award and the Padma Shri. She was given the awards in 1983 and 2002 respectively.

After retiring from international cricket, the Mumbai woman joined the Western Railway as a senior sports officer.

On the particular post, Edulji has helped talented women cricketers to grasp various employment opportunities.