Sharad Pawar is one of India's powerful regional politicians, perennially on the cusp of becoming prime minister. The closest he got - and perhaps ever will - was following Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, when Narasimha Rao got the job. When he first became a state minister, way back in 1966, Pawar's only connection to cricket was a tenuous one - his father-in-law, Sadu Shinde, was a Test legspinner, who toured England in 1946. But over the years Pawar's involvement with the game and its administration deepened. In 2001 he defeated Ajit Wadekar, the former India Test captain, in a fractious election to take over the reins of the Mumbai Cricket Association. Right away he was to demonstrate what he was capable of. He buried the hatchet with his just-defeated rival, solved outstanding problems on a war footing, and drew up ambitious plans for the expansion of Mumbai cricket far beyond the confines of the city.

With his stunning victory over Jagmohan Dalmiya's nominee Ranbir Singh Mahendra at the 76th AGM of the board, Pawar took over the country's cricket administration. Balancing his responsibilities as the union agriculture minister with his interest in cricket administration, he rose through the ranks in the international set-up before taking over as the ICC president in 2010.
Cricinfo staff (July 2010)