Sharad Pawar's innings comes to a close

The Supreme Court's verdict, on Monday (July 18), will bring to an end Sharad Pawar's 'epic innings' as a cricket administrator, which lasted for 16 years. The apex court has accepted the Lodha panel's recommendation for barring any individual above the age of 70 from holding a post in Board of Control for Cricket in India. Pawar is 75, and will have to quit the post of president of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) within six months.

Having entered cricket administration in 2001, when he beat former India skipper Ajit Wadekar to become the MCA president, Pawar made rapid strides to become an influential figure in Indian cricket. He lost to Jagmohan Dalmiya in a bitter, close election in 2004, but bounced back to beat the wily Kolkata businessman next year and become the BCCI president, ending Dalmiya's firm hold over Indian cricket.

In 2010, Pawar became the second Indian after Dalmiya to take over as the president of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The NCP supremo, who was also India's agricultural minister, came back to cricket administration as the MCA president in 2013, though this time he made it clear that he wasn't interested in holding any post in the BCCI or the ICC. However, he did lead a successful coup against N Srinivasan, the former BCCI chief, in the board elections last year. Many officials in the MCA swear by his acumen, experience and passion for the job. He was instrumental in Mumbai holding the ICC World Cup final in 2011, and building state-of-the-art infrastructure at Bandra Kurla Complex and Kandivali. His supporters say he never brought politics to the MCA, but used his clout to help the association on several counts.

"We respect the Supreme Court's recommendations, but it is very unfortunate that we're losing an excellent administrator like Sharad Pawar due to the Lodha Committee recommendations, because in the last 15 years there has been a phenomenal amount of development in Mumbai cricket because of him. We expected him to be with us for a few more years, so that Mumbai cricket would've been taken to even greater heights. Sadly, he has to go," PV Shetty, the MCA joint secretary, told Times of India.