On Tuesday, Ajinkya Naik, the incumbent Secretary, was elected as the youngest President of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), succeeding the late Amol Kale who tragically passed away in New York in June while attending the T20 World Cup.
In a decisive victory, Ajinkya Naik, aged only 37, was elected after securing 221 votes, surpassing Vice-President Sanjay Naik’s 114 votes in the election held on Tuesday. Despite the support of Mumbai BJP chief and BCCI Treasurer Ashish Shelar, Sanjay was defeated by a margin of 107 votes in the one-sided contest.
“Heartiest Congratulations to Mr. Ajinkya Naik who has been elected as the President of the Mumbai Cricket Association in the MCA elections held today,” the Mumbai Cricket Association said in a post on its official handle on X (formerly Twitter).
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Ajinkya Naik’s election was anticipated, as he had garnered the covert backing of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former MCA, BCCI, and ICC President Sharad Pawar.
It has been suggested that Ajinkya Naik may have had the implicit backing of Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is a fellow member of the ruling BJP with Ashish Shelar. The late President of MCA, Amol Kale, was reportedly in close association with Fadnavis, given their shared roots in Nagpur.
Ajinkya initially relied on Shelar’s assistance for his election as MCA Secretary, however, he later aligned with the Pawar faction, leading to strained relations with Sanjay Naik.
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Commenting on his victory, an elated Ajinkya said: “It’s a win for Mumbai maidan and their club secretaries as I’m just one of them. I have been part of various committees for more than one decade. The result came as per my expectations.”
Last week, Ajinkya expressed his desire to enhance cricket infrastructure in the city and engage with corporates to generate additional employment opportunities for cricketers.
