Dilsher Khanna resigns as PCA secretary
Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) secretary Dilsher Khanna has resigned from his post. Khanna, who was also the team manager during the Indian cricket team's historic T20 World Cup triumph in the US and West Indies last year, submitted his resignation in an official letter sent to PCA president Amarjeet Mehta. Khanna had become the PCA secretary in 2022.
'Yes, I have resigned from the post of PCA secretary,' Khanna confirmed the development while talking with The Indian Express.
'On a personal note, it was a privilege of a lifetime that I was the team manager for the Indian T20 World Cup winning men's cricket team in 2024. That memory will stay with me forever. However, currently due to my personal reasons, I hereby resign as honorary secretary of the Punjab Cricket Association with immediate effect,' a copy of the letter which is in possession with The Indian Express states.
Khanna, 33, an alumnus of Doon School and Delhi University and also a certified pilot, was elected as PCA secretary in 2022 with former cricketer Gulzar Inder Singh Chahal being elected as PCA president in the association's Annual General Meeting.
Chahal had resigned four months after his election with reports of irregularities during his term coming to fore with former cricketer and Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh too accusing Chahal of being involved. Bathinda hotelier Amarjeet Mehta was elected its new president in February 2023.
During Khanna's three-year tenure, PCA saw the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA International Stadium at Mullanpur being completed fully and hosting Indian Premier League (IPL) matches in 2024. His stint also saw Punjab winning five national titles apart from the PCA's introduction of Sher-e-Punjab T20 Cup.
The Punjab association has also seen the likes of Shubman Gill, Arshdeep Singh, Abhishek Sharma, and Ramandeep Singh apart from others playing for the Indian cricket team in recent years.
Khanna was also awarded with a commendation certificate by Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria in a UT Administration function on Independence Day last year. Earlier this year, Khanna was also appointed as a member of the Women's Premier League (WPL) committee by the BCCI.
In 2017, industrialist Rajinder Gupta was elected as PCA president with R P Singla elected as secretary before he was re-elected to the post in 2019 with advocate and former cricketer Puneet Bali elected as PCA secretary. Before his nomination in 2019, Gupta had offered to resign but was chosen as PCA president months later.
Gupta had resigned as the PCA president in 2022 followed by Chahal being elected as PCA president. As per BCCI constitution in line with the Supreme Court ruling, there is a nine-year tenure limit for any officer bearer, which can be served either entirely at state association, BCCI level or a combination of both. There is also a ruling of serving a three-year cooling off period after two consecutive terms of three-year each.
Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story 'Harmans of Moga', Nitin has also been a two-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women's cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships.
An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin's interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read More
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