Dnyaneshwar Agashe


Dnyaneshwar Agashe was an Indian businessman, cricketer, cricket administrator and philanthropist.
A wicketkeeper-batsman, Agashe played first-class cricket for Maharashtra between 1962 and 1968. He was twice vice-president of Board of Control for Cricket in India, serving his second and final term from 1995 to 1999. He was chairman and managing director of the Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate, chairman of Kolhapur Steel and founded the Suvarna Sahakari Bank in 1969.
Agashe and his family came into public scandal with the Suvarna Sahakari Bank scam case in 2008. While in judicial custody during the scandal, Agashe died of a heart attack from complications of diabetes, in 2009.

Early life

Agashe was born on 17 April 1942, into an entrepreneurial Chitpavan brahmin family of industrialist Chandrashekhar Agashe and wife Indirabai Agashe. Agashe's father founded the Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate in 1934. Agashe married Rekha Gogte. They had two sons, Mandar Agashe and Ashutosh Agashe, and a daughter, Sheetal Agashe. Some of Agashe's prominent relations include Kokuyo Camlin head Dilip Dandekar, musician Ashutosh Phatak, and Third Anglo-Maratha War general Bapu Gokhale.
Agashe was educated at Raman Baug High School, and graduated with a BA degree from Sir Parshurambhau College. He further graduated with a BCom degree from Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce. Agashe began competitively playing cricket in school, touring Sri Lanka. He was a wicketkeeper and middle order batsman when he went on to play the Ranji Trophy from 1967 to 1973, representing his home state of Maharashtra.

Business career

Beginning in 1969, Agashe founded the Suvarna Sahakari Bank for the banking purposes of mainly middle-class families. In 1983, he took office as managing director after his older brother in his father's company. He served as chairman to Kolhapur Steel and was director to many other start-ups. He diversified his business into liquor, pharmaceuticals, power generation, publication, and real estate. He started a unit in Canada for Taj Rum.
Agashe joined the Maharashtra Cricket Association in 1969 and was elected its executive chairman in 1989. During his tenure as chairman of the association, he was twice elected as the vice-president and once as the treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, being elected for his second term as VP in 1995. He had also contested for the post of BCCI's president, but lost by two votes. He was also the vice-chairman of the finance committee of the Pakistan-India-Lanka Joint Management Committee, which had organised the 1996 World Cup. He served his record seventh term as executive chairman, being elected in April, 2003. Agashe was also a voting member of the Mumbai Cricket Association. He was also the vice-president of the National Cricket Academy. and Sanjay Dalmia.
In 2004, Agashe was unanimously elected the president of the Poona Youth Club. He served as president through the club's liquor controversy. And in 2006, Agashe resigned the presidency, after his third year as president of the club.

Chairman of the Maharashtra Cricket Association

In 2004, the nine member interim committee was dissolved, and Agashe was elected to the office of the chairman of the Maharashtra Cricket Association. Later that same year, Agashe was denied participation in the annual general meeting of the BCCI due to alleged factional disputes by then BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya. He was later denied his right to vote in the Board's elections that year which saw Sharad Pawar losing by one vote to the post of the BCCI's president. Some sources at the time claimed Agashe's actions may have been deliberate. Agashe moved court countermanding the elections, alleging that the absence of his vote ensured an unfair victory to Dalmiya nominee Ranbir Singh Mahendra. The Madras High Court stated a prima facie case against the elections, with Agashe expressing satisfaction with the court's decision.
In 2005, the MCA was gripped in a power struggle between Agashe and Ajay Shirke. That year's MCA election was in sight of reformed regulation scheme recommendations between the two parties, which was won by Shirke. Agashe had served a record seventh term at the time of his ousting from the position. Critics claimed that the court cases between the two parties were responsible for a lack luster cricketing season in Pune that year.

Suvarna Sahakari Bank case

By 2006, the bank business started having financial troubles, with some sources alleging that the bank's failure was backlash for the controversial BCCI presidency elections of 2004. In September of that same year, the cooperative bank was put under moratorium by the Reserve Bank of India.
In 2007, following the order of moratorium, many of the bank's depositors held demonstrations at Agashe's Aundh residence and threatened criminal actions against the Agashe family, after which a speedy merger was promised by Agashe, when Cosmos Bank planned to acquire the bank.
In 2008, Agashe mortgaged personal property worth Rs. 200 crore in lieu of the recovery of the deposits worth Rs. 725 crore. Hotel Ranjeet, a hotel owned by Agashe was auctioned off for the same reasons. On 22 November that year, Agashe along with 14 other board members was taken into judicial custody; the bank business was charged with a Rs. 436.74 crore scam allegation. The arresting police stated that Agashe along with six others allegedly misused their rights and sanctioned loans mostly to firms owned by themselves and then defaulted the loans, thereby duping the depositors. The judicial magistrate remanded Agashe and the 14 other suspects to police custody, with provisions of medical assistance if required, citing the senior citizenship of a majority of the accused.
The economics offenses wing of the crime branch conducted a raid of Agashe's Aundh residence to recover Rs. 1.5 lakhs. The prosecution stated that upon discovery of the money, further interrogation of the accused was necessary and alleged that the accused had disbursed loans to people close to them by flouting RBI rules. In return, Agashe's defense counsel claimed that Agashe and his family had sold off various properties for the repayment of the loan. The defense counsel also stated that the Agashe family had extended full cooperation with the police and submitted that the family would repay another Rs. 80 crore after the issue of Suvarna's merger was settled. The defense also raised the issue of foul play, when the first information reporting of the allegations was not produced before the court three days after registering the case and further contended that the loans had been sanctioned by the bank's disbursement committee, a committee Agashe was not a member of. The bail applications filed at the time for Agashe, his wife, and his sister were subsequently rejected.
While in custody, Agashe's health deteriorated and he was admitted to Sassoon Hospital on 22 December, suffering from severe diabetes and gangrene, for which he had previously been denied medical assistance. He later died of a heart attack from complications of diabetes at Sassoon Hospital on 2 January 2009.

Cricket career

As a wicketkeeper-batsman, Agashe played first-class cricket for Maharashtra between 1962 and 1968 and scored two half-centuries in 13 matches. He played his best season in 1964–65 where he made his career-best 75, took ten catches and made two stumpings.
He then went on to serve as vice president of the Board for Control of Cricket in India and executive chairman of the Maharashtra Cricket Association. He also served as vice chairman of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.
DateTournamentZoneMatchStadiumCode
15 December 1962Ranji Trophy 1962/63West ZoneMaharashtra v BombayClub of Maharashtra, Poonaf24585
20 October 1963Ranji Trophy 1963/64West ZoneBombay v MaharashtraBrabourne Stadium, Bombayf25002
26 October 1963Defence Fund Match 1963/64-Gujarat Governor's XI v Maharashtra Governor's XISardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabadf25005
5 December 1963Ranji Trophy 1963/64West ZoneMaharashtra v SaurashtraClub of Maharashtra, Poonaf25056
31 October 1964Ranji Trophy 1964/65West ZoneMaharashtra v GujaratClub of Maharashtra, Poonaf25515
14 November 1964Ranji Trophy 1964/65West ZoneBaroda v MaharashtraMoti Bagh Stadium, Barodaf25528
5 December 1964Ceylon in India 1964/65-Indian Universities v CeylonNehru Stadium, Madrasf25564
5 October 1965Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup Tournament 1965/66Quarter-finalHyderabad Cricket Association XI v Vazir Sultan Tobacco Colts XILal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabadf26014
13 November 1965Ranji Trophy 1965/66West ZoneBombay v MaharashtraBrabourne Stadium, Bombayf26028
20 November 1965Ranji Trophy 1965/66West ZoneMaharashtra v BarodaKarad Engineering College Ground, Karadf26032
30 September 1967Ranji Trophy 1967/68West ZoneGujarat v MaharashtraShastri Maidan, Anandf26990
11 November 1967Ranji Trophy 1967/68West ZoneMaharashtra v BarodaMR College Stadium, Walchandnagarf27008
24 November 1967Ranji Trophy 1967/68West ZoneMaharashtra v SaurashtraNehru Stadium, Poonaf27027

Philanthropy

Agashe was instrumental in starting some educational institutes, donating to the Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce and was instrumental in founding of the Chandrashekhar Agashe College of Physical Education and Panditrao Agashe School in Pune. He also founded the Chandrashekhar Agashe High School, Chandrashekhar Agashe Junior College and Indirabai Agashe High School on the family's estate in the town of Shripur.
Agashe also donated his family collection of ancient Indian musical instruments to the Chandrashekhar Agashe Museum, a part of the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum of Pune in honour of his father. Agashe further provided financial assistance to Société géologique de France for their research in 1994.

Legacy

Agashe died on 2 January 2009 at Sassoon Hospital in Pune, at the age of 67. He died in the ICU from a heart attack while being treated for diabetic complications. A condolence meet following Agashe's death was held at the Poona Youth Club.
In 2015, Agashe's son, Ashutosh Agashe conceived the Dnyaneshwar Agashe Trophy as the highest award of merit at the Poona Youth Club's annual cricket tournament, the PYC Premier League, in honor of his father.