MUMBAI: In a shocking development, which sent Mumbai cricket into a pall of gloom. Mumbai Cricket Association president Amol Kale passed away due to a cardiac arrest on Monday in New York, where he had gone to watch the India versus Pakistan match of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Kale was 47.
On Sunday, Kale, along with MCA secretary Ajinkya Naik and apex council member Suraj Samat, had watched India’s thrilling win against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup from the stadium. Last Monday, Kale was present at an MCA function to launch the three-month off-season camp for all age group teams.
Kale became the MCA president when he beat India’s 1983 World Cup winner Sandeep Patil in October 2022 in a closely fought election.
In March, Kale was instrumental in the MCA, in a landmark move, deciding to double Mumbai’s senior men’s team's Ranji Trophy match-fees starting the forthcoming season.
In May, Kale had appointed former India women's team captain Diana Edulji and ex-Mumbai captain Milind Rege (played the same role last season) as the cricket advisors of the MCA.
“I am shocked and saddened with the passing away of Shri Amol Kale, he was a great president who in his short tenure has taken men and women's cricket to great heights. It is a big loss n pray that his soul rests in peace,” former India women's captain Diana Edulji told TOI.
Hailing from Nagpur, Kale was based in Mumbai for well over a decade, setting up a variety of businesses. He was a very close friend of Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister.
Kale was also a co-promoter of the Indian Street Premier League, a tennis-ball franchise cricket league, which was launched earlier this year.
