Dubai, 21 Sept

Mithun Manhas, a veteran of 157 first-class games, is all set to become the 37th BCCI president and the surprise development has not only raised eyebrows but also left the cricket fraternity in the country in disbelief as no one saw it coming.

He has an impressive tally of 9714 first class runs with 27 centuries to go with 4126 runs in List A matches.

A veteran cricket administrator, who has witnessed bitter BCCI elections from close quarters, made an apt observation.

"Observe how BJP leadership chose its Chief Ministers in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan," veteran administrator told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

"If anyone claimed that he knew Rekha Gupta, Mohan Yadav and Bhajan Lal Sharma would grab the top posts, he would have been lying. No one saw that coming," he said

"In case of BCCI, options are lesser and you can second guess, but for someone like Manhas, may be a joint secretary would have been logical when a Test player (Raghuram Bhatt) is being made treasurer.

"When you had three Test players in electoral rolls, two with 100 plus Tests (Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh), Manhas' selection will raise eyebrows for sure," the administrator said.

In Delhi cricket circuit, when a range of cricketers were contacted, most of them agreed that Manhas, 45, has always been a bright, intelligent person.

"He was always a people's person. Don't forget he had been a Delhi captain in a team that had a lot of big stars, India players. They played under him and he managed them fairly well.

"He came from Jammu after playing U-16s and we played together from Delhi U-19s and then India U-19 and Delhi senior team," former India opener and noted cricket pundit Aakash Chopra fondly recalled the playing days.

Chopra shared an anecdote from their junior playing days. "Mithun and I were travelling from Surat to Mumbai for a board age-group match in a crowded train.

"I was feeling sleepy and requested Mithun to take care of my new pair of shoes, kept in a box under the seat. Mithun himself had got a new pair of shoes. He rested his legs on my shoe box to guard it from getting stolen.

"When we got down at Mumbai, as luck would have it, Mithun's new pair was stolen. He knew how to make friends," Chopra recollected.

"I messaged him, wishing good luck. He was a bright man and a very good cricketer. Obviously he played in the middle order in an era when your No. 3 (Rahul Dravid), 4 (Sachin Tendulkar), 5 (Sourav Ganguly) and 6 (VVS Laxman) were sealed. He was unlucky but someone who was a very intelligent man," Chopra said.

Manhas' cricketing journey and now cricket administrative journey is always about being at the right place at the right time.

"Mithun in one word is a street smart man. When he first came to Delhi, he knew National Stadium and Gucchi Paaji's (Dronacharya awardee Gurcharan Singh) days of clout were over.

"Ustadji (late Tarak Sinha) and Sonnet Club was the gate pass to play for any state team from age-group to senior," another former Delhi player, who had played good six to seven years with him, encapsulated his journey.

So it was again following the old adage of "being at the right place at the right time".

"His cricketing credentials was more than decent but he knew what he needed and for how long. He wasn't a thoroughbred Sonnet kid like Raman bhaiyya (Lamba), Ajay bhaiyya (Sharma), Bhasi bhai (KP Bhaskar), Aakash (Chopra) or for that matter of fact Ashish (Nehra) or Rishabh (Pant).

"He was around in Sonnet till his Delhi selection and once he got his job in ONGC in sports quota, he wasn't much of a Sonnet man," the cricketer reminisced.

As he was gaining foothold in Delhi cricket, he knew that late Arun Jaitley was the most powerful man in DDCA and not many first-class cricketers would think of living in his close proximity in a plush South Delhi locality.

Was he the most popular man in the dressing room? There is divided opinion -- some called him shrewd and some practical knowing what to say and what to do at any given point.

"Mithun was the captain when Virat lost his dad in the middle of a Ranji game and Delhi was in trouble. Despite that Mithun told Virat to go home and when he insisted on playing, Mithun agreed. That was one part.

"At the other end, most of his friends were powerful international players like Viru (Virender Sehwag) and Yuvi (Yuvraj). Despite a modest T20 record, he played 55 IPL games for Delhi Daredevils (when Sehwag was skipper), Pune Warriors and Kings XI Punjab (Yuvraj). Viru and Mithun at one point were thick as thieves," the player added.

Once Gautam Gambhir was back as Delhi captain in 2016-17, Manhas, who was already 35 plus knew the writing on the wall.

He went back to Jammu and Kashmir where he played a season with modest returns before being back as an administrator with mandate of cleaning mess in the state cricket body. Those who saw him in JKCA felt his performance was a mixed bag.

Delhi cricket is full of incredibly funny characters and one such DDCA official summed it up on behalf of cricketers.

"His contemporaries are feeling like Farhan and Raju of 3 Idiots: 'Dost fail kare toh bura lagta hai par dost first aaye toh aur bura lagta hai'."