Atul Rai Succeeds Paraag Marathe As Chairman Of The USA Cricket

In a shocking development, Atul Rai has deposed Paraag Marathe as Chairman of USA Cricket just days after being elected Club Director.

Rai replaced Marathe in the first board meeting following his appointment as a director alongside Kuljit Singh Nijjar. Rai was elected chairman by Avinash Gaje, Nijjar, Srinivas Salver, and Venu Pisike, while Sushil Nadkarni, Catherine Carlson, and Nadia Gruny abstained.

As the abstainers were confused by the sudden board chairman election, Cricbuzz believes that the Chairman election (chosen by BODs) was never on the meeting’s schedule. The date of the election, which was held without previous notice, apparently shocked Carlson and Grundy. After the last vote was cast, Carlson left the room, expressing her frustration.

Marathe might find the dismissal particularly embarrassing after openly outlining his intentions to resign as chairman. In a press release issued by USA Cricket in May of this year, it was announced that Marathe would leave his tenure as chairman after the board had appointed a replacement to the independent director position, which he has held concurrently with his chairmanship since 2018.

Atul Rai Succeeds Paraag Marathe:

Paraag Marathe, a well-known sports executive and vice president of the 49ers franchise, was elected as the first-ever chairman of USA Cricket in August 2018 for a 2-year term. After his first term, which lasted for around 30 months, he was immediately re-appointed for a 3-year term. His second term as chairman turned out to be rather turbulent after he and four other board members received a lawsuit from Pisike and Salver over an alleged illegal constitutional amendment.

The lawsuit questioned the legitimacy of his second term as chairman and cited an alleged conflict of interest as well as the expiring terms of some of the directors who voted for him. Unwisely, Rai was supported in the election by Salver and Gaje, who are serving out expired sentences.

The Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board, a division that oversees internal elections for the board, was under consideration for possible dissolution by the new board, which cited the members’ terms as having expired. Complete overhauls of the board committees appear to be coming as a result of the shift in the balance of power.

Also Read: Asia Cup 2022: Axar Patel Should Have Been A Part Of The Squad: Parthiv Patel