Former BCCI president IS Bindra passes away
New Delhi (PTI): Former BCCI president Inderjit Singh Bindra, who played a major role in ushering in a new era of cricket marketing, passed away here on Sunday. He was 84.
He is survived by a son and daughter.
Bindra served as the board president from 1993 to 1996, and was also the president of the Punjab Cricket Association from 1978 to 2014.
In 2015, the PCA stadium was renamed as IS Bindra Stadium as a tribute to his inspiring work as an administrator.
Jay Shah, chairman of the International Cricket Council, wrote on his 'X' account: “Deepest condolences on the passing of Mr. I S Bindra, former BCCI president and a stalwart of Indian cricket administration. May his legacy inspire future generations. Om Shanti.”
As Shah mentioned, Bindra was indeed a stalwart of Indian cricket administration, having started the association with the game as an official in 1975.
He was best remembered for his role in organising the 1987 World Cup — then known as the Reliance Cup — in India and it was the first time the global event was moved out of England after the 1975, 1979 and 1983 editions.
He managed the coup in the company of his close friend late Jagmohan Dalmiya and then BCCI chief NKP Salve, and it opened the
Indian television market to the new possibilities of cricket marketing.
Bindra, who retired from cricket administration in 2014, also worked as the principal advisor of the International Cricket Council when Sharad Pawar held the president’s post.
Before that in 1994, Bindra had approached the Supreme Court of India to break the monopoly of Doordarshan in cricket broadcasting.
A favourable verdict from the apex court helped Bindra and his team bring global companies like ESPN and TWI to the Indian market, which soon expanded to be the biggest in the world.
However, his official life was not without its share of bitter moments as the support he gave to Lalit Modi after the spot-fixing saga in the IPL earned him his share of brickbats.
Bindra also played a pivotal role in the appointment of Haroon Lorgat as the Cricket South Africa CEO, and that move too did not win him many friends.
But overall, Bindra remained one of the architects of modern Indian cricket from a commercial perspective.
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Strikes on 3 more alleged drug boats kill 11 people, US military says
Washington (AP): The US military said Tuesday that it carried out strikes on three boats accused of smuggling drugs in Latin American waters, killing 11 people in one of the deadliest days of the Trump administration's monthslong campaign.
The series of strikes conducted Monday brought the death toll to at least 145 people since the administration began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” in small vessels since early September.
Like most of the military's statements on the 42 known strikes, US Southern Command said it targeted alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. It said two vessels carrying four people each were struck in the eastern Pacific Ocean, while a third boat with three people was hit in the Caribbean Sea.
The military did not provide evidence that the vessels were ferrying drugs but posted videos that showed boats being destroyed.
President Donald Trump has said the US is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narcoterrorists.”
