Sharad Pawar is set to face opposition for the president's post of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) for the first time in 14 years after Dr Vijay Patil, the head of the Cricket First group, filed his nomination yesterday for the June 17 elections.


Dr Vijay Patil (extreme left) files his nomination at the MCA office yesterday. To his left are J P Gavande (partly hidden), Lalchand Rajput, Sangam Lad, Abey Kuruvilla, Pravin Amre, Mayank Khandwalla and Pratap Sarnaik (right). Pic/Atul Kamble 

Pawar had beaten former India skipper Ajit Wadekar in 2000 to become the MCA president. He was at the helm for eight years in a row before heading the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from 2005 to 2008 and then heading the International Cricket Council from 2010 to 2012. In the 2013, MCA polls, Pawar was elected unopposed with Patil's panel also supporting his candidature. This time though the veteran politician might have to slug it out to retain his chair.