Former South Africa captain Ali Bacher has paid rich tributes to late BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya, describing him as a smart businessman, who made India the financial powerhouse of world cricket.
"I was very close to him in the early 1990s. I never met anybody who was so persistent in getting other administrators to support his point of view. He was a smart businessman and he was the start of creating an India as the financial powerhouse of world cricket it is now," Bacher was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Bacher also termed Dalmiya, who served as the former president of the ICC as well, the ultimate Bengal tiger.
"He never understood the word no. He was the ultimate Bengal tiger," Bacher, who was the managing director of the United Cricket Board of SA in the 1990s, said.
Bacher said Dalmiya was instrumental in South Africa's re-admission into the International Cricket Council and he also ensured that the country was back on the cricketing field.