Gurumurthy’s aims to be the voice of Associate Member cricketing nations on getting elected to the ICC Board of Directors

By K.R. Nayar
From Barbados

At a time when Associate countries created waves in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, Gurumurthy Palani, who has been playing a role in spreading the game among associate countries in various roles over the years is hoping to get elected to the ICC Board of Directors.

Gurumurthy Palani (extreme right) with BCCI Secretary  Jay Shah and Mohammad Mansoor, Chairman Bahrain Cricket Federation 

A banker by profession, Gurumurthy wants add more value to associate members. He carries with him 30 years of experience in banking, consulting and fintech along with his deep passion for the game. The role he has played in creating facilities, setting up a High Performance Academy and nurturing talent through various events in Bahrain, are examples.

The reward for him was the progress that Bahrain could make and become a rising team. The development he brought about as Chief Development Officer for Bahrain Cricket Foundation also made him understand more about what is needed for an associate nation to progress. In his role as Chief Development Officer he developed grass roots cricket, started women’s and youth leagues, transformed men’s league and developed professional coaching structures.

The result began to show as Bahrain Cricket ranking jumped six places in year to 28.  Womens league, received ICC’s Best Female Cricket Initiative of the Year in 2021. Bahrain played 20+ T20I in between 2021/2022. Over and above Bahrain raised sponsorships and broadcasting revenues to the tune of $400,000 which enabled to play 20+ T20i matches.

 

Gurumurthy Palani and yours sincerely during the interview 

What Gurumurthy wants to do if elected to ICC Board of Directors is he wants the voice of the associate nations to be heard by the board. Speaking to krbuzz.blogspot.com he explained it at length. “Currently, strategy and initiatives are driven by ICC, prepared by sharp cricketing brains, which could get filtered to the point that only some of the associate nations ideas and concerns are heard by the board. As Associate Members we have access to the Board through our elected Board Members, our collective voice can be taken directly to Chairman of the ICC Board. I would ensure that the voices of the Associate Members are heard loud and clear.”

Does he have the acumen to go about this? The manner in which he has structured his career and developed that ability to transform anything that he associates with into something special is the answer. “Although I was born in India, I took Canadian citizenship after completing my MBA from Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Over the course of my professional career spanning 30 years, I have worked across multiple countries including Canada, UK, India, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. Beyond this, I have visited nearly 60 countries due to my professional and speaking engagements, which has broadened my perspective and given me a diverse understanding of the world. It is with these international experiences that I want to be representing all the Associate countries and be their voice in the ICC. My nomination and secondment will speak for itself.”

Gurumurthy has never been an arm chair man but believes in gaining experience hands on.  “I have extensive on-the-ground expertise from leading financial institutions across the globe. I have been widely recognized as one of the thought leaders in this space. Moreover, I have extensive board experience as a result of my leadership roles in global banks. Given this background, I thoroughly understand the expectations of this role and I am confident I have the necessary skills to contribute effectively on the ICC Board.”

Speaking during an ICC Women's Cricket Panel discussion

 
Gurumurthy is aware that to play the role of representing Associate nations requires not just professional knowledge but much beyond that since it involves working closely with different communities. “I have been extensively involved in community impact activities. I led the logistics unit for the Save Soil Programs Middle East Journey, which was endorsed by the UN, World Food Programme and Global Citizen Forum. This project has touched more than 4 billion people across the globe. In addition to my administrative responsibilities, I have supported the Save Soil founder, Sadhguru and his 50 person team on a 5000 km motorbike trip across the Middle East.”

Everything needs “laser sharp execution and focus” as he calls it. “My past leadership roles in multi-billion dollar enterprises have taught me the ability to navigate across large organizations. These skills will help me to work effectively across 98+ Associate Member Countries, the ICC and the Board. My exposure to extremely politically and culturally diverse environments, both locally and globally across multiple countries will add to the Board’s diversity,” he said with the confidence gained from his experience.

According to him, everything is a learning experience. “My current and past board engagements have given a deep understanding of the responsibilities and accountabilities of a board. They have taught me to have transparent, open and engage in respectful conversations that are focussed on outcomes rather than driven by emotions.”

Gurumurthy has even drafted plans on how he can transfer his skill for the benefit of the Associate nations.  “I have the financial acumen to understand complex balance sheets and the ability to drill down to the finer details.”

Gurumurthy Palani gives away the Player of the Match award during the ICC Men's World Cup qualifiers 

Gurumurthy understands the world of digitization and its role in the future of cricket.  “I understand the world of digitization and what it means to cricket — for example, the Implementation of Centralized Cricket ERP’s for AM’s, common cricket app across Associate member countries, opportunities to leverage AI/ML for effective data monetization and to deliver high performance coaching.  I have the ability to devise short term strategies and see the big picture… i.e Future of Cricket in 2030.”

Gurumurthy’s vision is based on four key pillars that are needed for a growth strategy. “Engagement, Collaboration, Strategy and Execution” As regards engagement and communications between Associate Members, he says: "Each and every Associate member is unique and has contributed significantly and adapted well in his or her own environment.  Together, they have developed strong grassroot cricket structures, women’s cricket, local leagues, youth cricket, community engagement, fans engagement through some dynamic social media strategy and playing/performing well despite not having grass grounds. It seems like everyone has their own secret sauce. All these can happen through structured communications."

Gurumurthy has already drafted a few plans, which he then went on to elaborate. Monthly newsletters updating Associate Members’ progress, board discussions points, Associate Members’ secret sauce and any other items that are relevant.  Quarterly video calls with AM’s to give progress updates and seek inputs on any new initiatives that need to be pursued with thr ICC Board and Annual one-day workshop during the ICC AGM along with ICC Senior Executives for an open conversation on initiatives, strategy and points that are outstanding and need to be addressed.”

Gurumurthy believes that the scope for progress is as vast as the sky: “We have 88+ Associate Member countries, around 5 to 10 Board members, CEO’s, and Coaching staff. Imagine the prowess that 98 x 10 = 880 cricketing brains could generate! Close collaboration involving the ICC, Board and CEC’s could move us towards a win-win situation. In short, it would help define, execute and monitor strategy. If elected to the board, I intend to focus my best energies towards developing a detailed Terms of Reference on the engagement and communication plan and have this endorsed by ICC and Board.”

Gurumurthy Palani speaking at the ICC Women's Cricket panel discussion in Birmingham 

Gurumurthy concludes emphasising what is the need of the hour: “Asssociate Members’ voice needs to be heard much more strongly and objectively; I will be your voice if elected to the ICC Board.”

In his closing remark he said that “value is not limited to financial value, by engaging and collaborating together we can create, capture and transfer the value between us, which is financial and non-financial in nature.

 Lets work together to drive this beautiful and unique game as #1 SPORT in the world. Let the game be played by multiple AM teams inside the boundary rope, outside the rope lets drive cricket as: ONE TEAM, ONE VOICE, ONE GOAL