Arun Jaitley maintained a great harmony with cricket during his political phase and was very popular among cricket players and administrators.
The country is celebrating the 67th birthday of former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today. Jaitley, a veteran politician and a well-known Bharatiya Janata Party strategist, died on 24 August 2019. He was also the finance minister of the country as well as the defence minister. Apart from being a mature politician and lawyer, Jaitley had a strong attachment to cricket. He was the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Jaitley was the President of Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) for a long time and despite being connected with politics, he had a deep connection with the cricket world. Whenever elections were mentioned in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Jaitley was also discussed. He had a deep political influence on many cricket associations of the country.
Jaitley died at the age of 66. Jaitley was the president of DDCA for 13 consecutive years. He was president from 1999 to 2012 till DDCA. During his tenure, Delhi Cricket got facilities like renovation of Ferozeshah Kotla, a world-class cricket stadium. Given his contribution, the stadium has now been renamed as Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Jaitley joined Indian cricket in 1990. He became the first member of DDCA. After becoming Union Minister in 1999, he also became the President of DDCA. He also became the vice-president of BCCI in 2013, but in the same year, he left the post due to spot-fixing controversy in the IPL. He was also a member of the Governing Council of the IPL.
As soon as Jaitley took over as the DDCA President, the Delhi team brought players like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra, Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma, Pradeep Sangwan, Akash Chopra. He was also called the kingmaker of players. He understood the needs of the players and diagnosed their problems. He also remembered the names of the players doing well in the Under-19s.
