Former BCCI vice-president and DDCA sports secretary Sunil Dev passes away | Cricket News
From a young cricketer representing Young Friends Club in the Delhi and Drict Cricket Association (DDCA) league to becoming the DDCA sports secretary for nearly three decades to being the vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Sunil Dev who passed away at the age of 75 on the night of August 2, had made great strides as a cricket adminrator.
He was also cricket manager of the Indian team that toured South Africa and Zimbabwe under the captaincy of Sachin Tendulkar in 1996-97 and when India won the inaugural T20 World Cup, under M S Dhoni’s captaincy in 2007. He was also the manager of the team that toured England in 2014.
He represented St Stephen’s College and played inter-varsity cricket as a wicketkeeper-batsman. He played one Ranji Trophy match — against Jammu and Kashmir in the 1969-70 season when he opened Delhi’s batting along with Vijay Mehra and scored 42 runs. His team mates in that squad included Bishan Singh Bedi, Rajender Goel, Mehra, Ashok Gandotra, Daljeet Saxena and Suresh Luthra. The team was led Mehra.
It was during his tenure as DDCA sports secretary that a sports committee with representatives of clubs was formed to run the DDCA league. In his early days as a DDCA official, he would travel to the Feroz Shah Kotla on a rickety two-wheeler.
Besides DDCA, he was a member of the Delhi Gymkhana, National Sports Club of India (NSCI) and Cricket Club of India (CCI).
A Congress party supporter, Sunil Dev counted the late Madhav Rao Scindia, Congress leader Kamal Nath and Vikram Kaul of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation among his friends.
He could often be found watching Ranji Trophy matches in the company of former cricketers and journals.Sunil Dev passed away at the Apollo Hospital after undergoing hernia surgery. He is survived his wife and two daughters.
(A veteran cricketer reporter, the writer extensively followed Delhi cricket for close to four decades while working for The Indian Express)
