Sheila Razdan retires from International Cricket Council after 17 years, but her three-decade journey with the game continues

By K.R. Nayar

 

Sheila Razdan has been part of international cricket as an administrator for over three decades. Very few women may have served the game as an administrator for such a long time.  Starting her journey in 1992 from the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, she has worked relentlessly for the game with devotion, enjoying the process every day.  

 

Sheila Razdan 

Cricket was her passion and so she rose to heights quickly reaching the International Cricket Council (ICC) to serve as an administrator there for 17 years. When she retired, she was felicitated by the ICC during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Birmingham on July 26, 2022 and given a standing ovation by all members of the world cricket body.

For Sheila, it was a special moment to be honoured during the ICC AGM where ICC Directors including Indra Nooyi, other Presidents, and Chairmen of the ICC member countries were present. Joining the ICC in the Media and Communications department in 2005, Sheila retired as Senior Admin Officer (Legal).

Sheila Razdan with ICC colleagues 

The tale of Sheila's journey is an inspiring one. “I got hooked to cricket when I was maybe 8 or 9 years old when my Dad asked me to listen to the radio commentary and make a note of the runs and wickets and let him know the latest score when he called me up from his work. This was during the West Indies tour to India sometime in the 1960s,” said Sheila, who has never missed following cricket matches ever since this series. Little did she know that in the days to come she would be interacting with some of the great cricketers around the world. She soon got attached to the Sharjah Cricket Stadium where international cricketers flocked to play regularly in the Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS).

 

“I joined CBFS, Sharjah as an Executive Assistant to Mr Abdulrahman Bukhatir, Chairman Mr. Noorani, CEO and President, and Coordinator Mr Asif Iqbal.  I doubled up as the Marketing Assistant, Hospitality Manager and Media Assistant during the tournaments.” In fact, she picked up the threads of event management and cricket administration during her days at the Sharjah Stadium. So, although she was always at the Sharjah Stadium, she has not witnessed some of the great moments on the ground as all that she could hear from her cabin was the roar of the crowds. When one event started off, she would get busy working hard on the facilities for the next match and all that would be needed for the smooth conduct of the series. Those were the days when there were no event management companies specializing in organising every aspect of the game and everything used to be done by the stadium organisers. Incidentally, there have been quite a few instances in the 1990’s when I have collected my media accreditation card for the CBFS series matches from Sheila.

 

Sheila Razdan giving away prize during an inter school girls cricket tournament in 2008

In fact, July has always been an eventful month for Sheila.  She worked at the Sharjah Stadium till July 30, 2005 and started with the ICC on July 31, 2005.  Sheila is married to Roop Razdan, an equally ardent lover of the game who has set up the popular Simply Cricket Academy.

 

“Roop always backed me in all that I've done and I've backed him in whatever he chose to do, whether it was helping him organise theatre and stage shows or when he chose to do a big project at the FairGrounds Oval cricket ground at the Dubai Men’s College. In 2018, he set up the Simply Cricket Academy. We always back each other in whatever we do,” said Sheila, who is thankful to her Dad and Roop for backing her passion for the game. “Sports has been an integral part of my life; my Dad was an avid sportsman and so is Roop. We saw cricket matches at the CCI and Brabourne stadium in Mumbai and enjoyed the Davis Cup tennis matches as well.”

Serving Cricket made Sheila live her life to the fullest.  “I've had the fortune of meeting and interacting with cricket heads of many countries, Bollywood stars, and of course, players turned commentators like Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Ian Chappell, Richie Benaud, Michael Holding, and Clive Lloyd, some of them who were my childhood idols.

 

Sheila’s intense love for the game earned her support from everyone with whom she worked at the ICC.  “I am thankful to my ex-colleagues Malcolm Speed, Faisal Hasnain, David Becker, Iain Higgins and current seniors Claire Furlong, Jonathan Hall, to name a few, who empowered me and trusted me to give my best. My work was never boring, and I looked forward to getting to work daily. Being able to interact with players turned administrators was a great feeling as well. Ex-players like Ramiz Raja, Martin Snedden and Sourav Ganguly are the current directors on the ICC board.”

 

For Sheila, meeting people has been a valuable experience.  “Meeting Indra Nooyi who has been my career icon from my early working days was one of the highlights of my period with ICC. I also made some great friends in the cricket fraternity.”

 

Sheila Razdan with Ravi Shastri and Pankaj Khimji, the new director of ICC and Chairman of Oman Cricket 

While Sheila's journey with cricket continues through not only assisting Roop in grooming youngsters at the Simply Cricket Academy, she has also been associated with supporting the staging of high-profile tournaments. She was recently a part of the Legends League Cricket, a global T20 cricket league featuring retired international cricketers, that was first held in Muscat, Oman, from January 20, 2022, to January 29, 2022.  “It was Ravi Shastri (Commissioner of Legends League Cricket) who got me involved with this event. We put the event together in 46 days with some great youngsters who shared their passion and love for the game. We will be working on Season 2 which is scheduled to be held in India later this year.”

 

Sheila Razdan enjoying brunch with family and friends 

“I will continue to stay connected with the game I love so much and that has been a big part of my life. I've learned many life lessons from the game, especially the spirit of cricket - teamwork, support to mates, discipline, respect, attitude, and that winning and losing is all part of life,” says Sheila, who is now hoping to travel, work at her pace, choose assignments, and enjoy brunches and time with family & friends.