Dravid Saina nominated by Sports Ministry to 2030 CWG Organising Committee

New Delhi, Oct 30 (PTI) Former India cricket captain Rahul Dravid and Olympic medal-winning badminton great Saina Nehwal have been nominated by the Sports Ministry as athlete representatives in the proposed Organising Committee for the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad.

     The OC is expected to be headed by Gujarat's Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, who also holds the sports portfolio, and will have representation from the Indian Olympic Association, which is going to polls in December. It will also feature a Commonwealth Games Association of India representative in Lt. Gen. Harpal Singh.

     "Yes, Rahul Dravid and Saina Nehwal have been nominated to the proposed Organising Committee. Jinal Mehta and Ananya Birla are the two recommendations from the private sector," a Sports Ministry source told PTI.

     Saina, the 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist, has become a member of the ruling BJP after retiring from the sport. Dravid, after retiring from the game, has been a coach and guided the national team to the 2024 T20 World Cup trophy.

     Both Mehta and Birla are associated with IPL franchises.

     While Torrent Pharmaceuticals head Mehta is the chairman of Gujarat Titans, Ananya Birla is associated with the consortium that owns Royal Challengers Bengaluru.    

     The 2030 CWG OC is expected to have 12 to 15 members in all and was to be formed early this year after Ahmedabad won the bid to host the Games in November 2025.

     The CWG, which was significantly scaled down for this year's Glasgow edition due to paucity of funds, is expected to be a grand affair when it comes to Ahmedabad.

     India plans to have 15 to 17 disciplines on the roster. The Glasgow Games featured only 10 disciplines and left out popular ones like hockey, wrestling, and cricket among others.

     The OC for the Ahmedabad Games will be a not for profit company, a model that was adopted by the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and was recommended by CAG after the 2010 CWG in Delhi.

     The operational cost for the Ahmedabad CWG is expected to be around Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 crore. The sports ministry has committed a grant in aid of Rs 2000 crore that will be released as and when a demand is raised by the Gujarat government.

     This does not include funds (capital expenditure) that will go into building other infrastructure, some of it being handled by the urban development department. The cost incurred for building public infrastructure will not be accounted in Games expenditure as its utility is going to be beyond the Games.

     The Melbourne edition is often described as one of the best CWG of all time, earning praise for its execution and public participation.

     Besides a chairman, the OC will also have a vice chairman, a CEO, and representatives from Commonwealth Sport (the governing body of the Games).

     The 2010 Delhi CWG OC Headed by then IOA chief Suresh Kalmadi and was registered as a society. It drew heavy criticism for its handling of the Games and also faced corruption allegations.

     The Ahmedabad CWG is expected to be held in the October of 2030.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)