Amitabh Choudhary, the former BCCI secretary, and veteran Jharkhand cricket administrator, died of a heart attack in Ranchi on Tuesday morning. He was 58. A retired senior IPS officer, who rose to the rank of IGP with the Jharkhand Police, the former top cop was also the chairman of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC).

Choudhary was the acting BCCI secretary when the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators was overseeing the workings of the board from 2017-2019. Choudhary entered the cricket administration in 2004 and served as the President of the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) for more than 10 years.

It was during his stint as president that JSCA constructed the state-of-the-art stadium in Ranchi, which hosted its first international fixture in January 2013, an ODI between India and England.

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"Deeply saddened by news of sudden passing away of former JPSC chairman Shri Amitabh Chaudhary. Former IPS officer Amitabh ji played a significant role in the development of cricket in the state. May his soul rest in peace and condolences and strength to his family in this hour of grief," Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren tweeted.

He had also served as a BCCI joint secretary and was an administrative manager with the Indian team on a few occasions.

One of his most difficult assignments as Team India manager was the Zimbabwe tour in 2005 when the much-publicized fall-out happened between erstwhile captain Sourav Ganguly and then coach Greg Chappell.

As the acting BCCI secretary, Choudhary often butted heads with the CoA, who had said that most of the BCCI office-bearers were preventing changes, as prescribed by the Supreme Court of India, from being implemented. To that, Choudhary had replied by saying that the committee had "lost sight of the mandate" while trying to put in place the reforms.

(PTI inputs)