© Cricinfo

Martin Williamson chats with Ram Varadarajan, a man who has emerged from the shadows to offer a credible challenge to Gladstone Dainty in the race to become the new president of the USA Cricket Association.

Until last month, little was known about Varadarajan, but his announcement that he was ready to take on Dainty was supported by a PR offensive as slick as Dainty's was non existent.

"I had a sense of disappointment that there were not many ideas coming from USACA and I realised something had to be done to bring some energy and liveliness to the organisation."

One thing that Varadarajan's group is aware of is the perception that USACA is run in one corner of the country and is "irrelevant to the leagues and stakeholders". As a result, the candidates allied to him are from across the country and, crucially, people picked for their strengths and not because they are friends of his. "I wanted people with skills from across the USA.

"I believe that USACA is public service, and the president needs to believe he is the servant of the leagues and not its master. Currently USACA is operating as if it is the master and I want to change that. It needs to be more relevant."

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