Ajinkya Naik becomes Mumbai Cricket Association
Ajinkya Naik, 37, has emerged as the youngest president of the Mumbai Cricket Association, having defeated Sanjay Naik, the candidate of Mumbai BJP chairman Ashish Shelar, by 107 votes in a lopsided election held on Tuesday.
Mumbai: Owing to incumbent secretary Ajinkya Naik’s 221-114 victory over current vice-president Sanjay Naik on Tuesday, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) presidential elections ultimately developed into a one-sided contest.
Ajinkya Naik, aged 37, became the association’s youngest president throughout this process. Given that his opponent fought under the Ashish Shelar Group’s banner, he can also be seen of as a big killer.
Under Amole Kale’s direction, Ajinkya was the association secretary. After Kale passed away last month, the MCA was forced to hold a presidential election.
Since I’m only one of them, it’s a victory for the Mumbai maidaan and their club secretaries. I have almost ten years of experience serving on numerous committees. My path has resembled a pyramid. “After winning, the outcome met my expectations,” Ajinkya remarked. Sanjay received 114 votes, while Ajinkya received 221.
Ajinkya stated that contacting corporate entities to expand the number of cricket players’ jobs will be one of his top priorities. Ajinkya stated that it is a problem that needs to be addressed, citing the dearth of employment opportunities for players.
Even though Ajinkya ran for the position without the official support of any lawmaker, he acknowledged that “unseen powers” worked behind the scenes to assist him become the MCA’s youngest president ever.
“There were many unseen powers; you will gradually learn who they were.” Sir Sharad Pawar is our mentor. We’ve been keeping up with him for a while now,” he continued.
The Mumbai Cricket Association posted on its official X, formerly Twitter, feed, saying, “Heartiest congratulations to Mr. Ajinkya Naik, who has been elected as the President of the Mumbai Cricket Association in the MCA elections held today.”
Following his “behind the scenes” backing from Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and former MCA, BCCI, and ICC President Sharad Pawar, Ajinkya Naik’s election proceeded as planned.
There are also reports that he had the unspoken backing of Devendra Fadnavis, the BJP colleague of Ashish Shelar and the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra. Given that both Fadnavis and MCA President Amol Kale were from Nagpur, it was reported that they were quite close.
With Shelar’s help, Ajinkya was able to win the MCA Secretary position.
Since I’m only one of them, it’s a victory for Mumbai Maidan and their club secretaries. I have almost ten years of experience serving on numerous committees. “After winning, the outcome met my expectations,” Ajinkya remarked.
Last week, Ajinkya declared that he would like to focus on enhancing the city’s cricket infrastructure and reach out to corporates to increase job prospects for cricket players.
Ajinkya joins the galaxy of individual stalwarts like Sharad Pawar, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Ashish Shelar, and Manohar Joshi among others. “Mr Pawar has been an inspiration and leader who went on to become BCCI and ICC head,” Ajinkya said after the unexpected win against Sanjay. While Ajinkya was the secretary of the association, Sanjay is the current vice-president.
The election was necessitated because of the untimely death of president Amol Kale. Ajinkya dedicated his victory to Kale and vowed to continue the rich legacy he left behind. “I thank all the voters who voted in my favour. The victory is a testament to Amol Kale’s exemplary achievement. My efforts will be to replicate his commitment and dedication to improving the quality of Mumbai cricket and take his legacy forward,” he said.
Naik also aims to improve cricket at the famous Maidans of Mumbai and organise a career mela by inviting government and corporate heads to facilitate jobs for the Mumbai players. “Mumbai cricketers do not have regular jobs, they are merely temporary contract employment. I will request the government organisations and corporates to employ Mumbai players,” he said.
Kale became the MCA president after defeating former India and Mumbai cricketer Sandip Patil in the elections, which were held in October 2022.
Kale had a successful term with the Mumbai Cricket Association as its president after being elected in 2022.
It was during his tenure that the MCA agreed to give a 100 per cent pay raise to its senior men’s cricketers for the 2024-25 season.
The decision was approved at the MCA’s recent apex council meeting. It will effectively double a player’s earnings through the season. (ANI)
Ajinkya Naik’s election was on expected lines after he had secured the “behind the scenes” support of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo and former MCA, BCCI and ICC President Sharad Pawar.
According to some claims, he also had the tacit support of Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, a colleague of Ashish Shelar in the BJP. MCA’s deceased President Amol Kale was said to be quite close to Fadnavis as both hailed from Nagpur.
