Singapore Cricket Association chief Mahmood Gaznavi re-elected for one-year term

SINGAPORE – Singapore cricket’s training facility woes proved to be a hot topic at the Singapore Cricket Association’s (SCA) elections on Friday as its incumbent president Mahmood Gaznavi came under fire from affiliates during the annual general meeting (AGM).

About 70 attendees were at the AGM held at the Singapore Khalsa Association – which saw Gaznavi returning to office after winning the vote 16-8 against challenger Anton J. Ravindran – with several members pressing the association on what it has done in the past seven years to secure a new training ground.

After winning the Sixes gold at the SEA Games in May, the national players had raised concerns over

the lack of a proper training pitch.

Since vacating their previous home at Kallang in 2016 after their yearly lease was not renewed by Sport Singapore (SportSG), the national team have been training at a shared facility at the Singapore Indian Association.

In response, Gaznavi said that in addition to working with SportSG, the SCA had consulted its adviser Ms Indranee Rajah, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, and Mr Edwin Tong, the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth.

The 61-year-old added that the association had also submitted tenders for plots of land over the past few years in its attempts to find a new home.

While he is confident that the SCA can secure a new training ground by 2026, the lawyer is hoping that it happens “sooner rather than later”.

“A major challenge is getting a ground. Once I get a ground, a major part of my challenge is met,” said Gaznavi.

“The challenge is really to shorten the period from 2026 to as soon as possible, so we’re really hoping to get a facility as soon as possible.”

All seven positions in SCA’s executive committee were contested at Friday’s elections, with Subir Ghatak (deputy president), Sundaramoorthi Santhanam (vice-president), Muraleedharan Manesh (honorary secretary) and Ajmal Rasheed Manisseril (individual members’ representative) also re-elected.

Neeraj Sundarajoo (vice-president) and Jamil S. Raza (honorary treasurer) did not seek re-election and were replaced by Balakrishnan Rajesh and Shantonu Bhadury respectively.

Gaznavi, who has held cricket’s top post since 2015, defeated entrepreneur Ravindran comfortably and will serve his ninth stint as SCA president.

He also laid out his plans for his one-year tenure, which revolve around building a larger pool of players at both the senior and youth levels.

To do so, the SCA is looking at two national squads of about 25 players each to create a competitive environment.

It will also look into the issues that players face, such as getting leave from work and time constraints.

The association plans to reach out to schools to engage student-athletes who may have an interest in cricket, but are unable to play the sport as their schools do not offer it as a co-curricular activity.

Aside from the training ground, other issues such as national team selection were also raised at the AGM, with the discussion turning heated at times.

Attendees also sought clarity on the rights of those who were promised life membership after donating $1,000 each to the SCA’s Friends of the Pavilion fund-raising initiative.

Acknowledging these issues, Gaznavi said: “Certainly some of the input we’ve received is something that we need to consider looking at.

“After looking at it, we need to come up with ways in which we can accommodate as many people as possible.”

Speaking to The Straits Times after the AGM, Ravindran called for a change in the constitution to remove block voting and for the SCA to produce more detailed financial reports that all members have access to.

While he is not expecting major changes, Singapore Recreation Club convener Paul Joseph hopes to see more transparency from the association.

The 57-year-old said: “To me, the most important thing is transparency, having clear-cut guidelines and due process of meritocracy.”