Former BCCI secretary and Jharkhand association president Amitabh Choudhary dies of heart attack

Former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary and Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) president Amitabh Choudhary died at the age of 58 due to a heart attack on Tuesday (August 16). JSCA confirmed the development early on Tuesday about Choudhary, who served as the acting cricket board secretary during the tenure of Committee of Administrators under the chairmanship of Vinod Rai.

Choudhary’s BCCI colleague and former board treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry, condoled the death of veteran administrator. “Amitabh’s contribution to the game of cricket in Jharkhand was immense. He will be missed by JSCA and it will be difficult to fill the void left by him in Jharkhand. I offer my condolences to his family, friends and well wishers,” he told The Indian Express newspaper.

An IIT Kharagpur alumnus, Chaudhary was instrumental in getting the first-class status for Jharkhand after BCCI disbanded the Bihar Cricket Association during the late Jagmohan Dalmiya's tenure in the early part of the new millennium. Once Jharkhand got the official FC status, Mahendra Singh Dhoni shifted from Bihar and represented the state till the end of his career.

Choudhary was instrumental in making Ranchi the headquarters of Jharkhand cricket, shifting the base from Jamshedpur. A world-class stadium was built there under his watch and befittingly one end of the stadium was named after him.

#JPSC k prv adhykss shrii amitaabh caudhrii jii k aaksmik nidhn kii dHkhd khbr milii /
prv IPS adhikaarii amitaabh jii n raajy m kriktt k khl ko bddhaan m bhii mhtvprnn bhmikaa nibhaaii thii /
prmaatmaa divgt aatmaa ko shaati prdaan kr shok stpt privaar ko dHkh kii ghddii shn krn kii shkti d /

— Hemant Soren (@HemantSorenJMM) August 16, 2022

A former IPS, Choudhary dabbled into politics also. But cricket was his first passion. He was the Indian team manager in Zimbabwe in 2005-06, a tour that witnessed the infamous Sourav Ganguly-Greg Chappell fallout. Later, working under the CoA in the BCCI, he faced tougher administrative challenges and had to deal with the Virat Kohli-Anil Kumble saga that saw the latter’s acrimonious exit as India coach.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren also condoled the death of Amitabh Choudhary. Soren wrote on Twitter that Choudhary played a major role in promoting cricket in the state of Jharkhand.