Guyana Cricket administrator Pretipaul Jaigobin was this week being remembered for his humility and passion for transparency and accountability in service to the sport.

Jaigobin, who was elected treasurer of the Guyana Cricket Board on March 29, perished in a motor vehicle crash in the South American country on Thursday, April 1.

An economic and financial analyst for the European Union Task Force in Guyana’s Ministry of Finance, he was reportedly travelling from a COVID-related assignment in Mahdia to the Ministry of Finance in Georgetown, when the accident occurred.

A cricket administrator for more than two decades, Jaigogin previously served on the GCB as the assistant treasurer between 2009 and 2011. However, in May 2011, shortly after a particularly tumultuous meeting of the GCB Executive Committee, he was attacked by an unknown assailant who doused him with acid that left him disfigured.

He would spend the next 42 days in Georgetown Hospital recovering.

The boards of the GCB and the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) now mourn his passing.

“It was with profound sorrow that the staff and the recently-elected executives of both the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) learnt of the vehicular accident on Thursday, April 1, 2021 that resulted in the tragic death of Pretipaul Jaigobin, the treasurer of both boards,” both entities said in a joint statement.

“Jai, as he was popularly known, was well liked and respected. His congeniality, humility and sense of humour endeared him to many.

“Pretipaul had been an active and trusted Cricket Administrator for over 20 years with a vast knowledge of the game, especially in relation to cricket records and statistics. His contributions to the deliberations and decisions at cricket meetings especially on financial issues and effective governance were invaluable.”

According to those closest to him, Jaigobin had a special affinity for youth cricket. His professional approach helped in the stimulation of affirmative action in cricket administration and he was constantly looking at ways to improve accounting and marketing procedures. 

“Jai was a stalwart and contributed immensely during the long struggle for accountability and legality at both the GCB and the DCB,” the statement said.

“In February of this year, he was elected Treasurer of the DCB at the court-supervised elections of that board.  On March 29, 2021 he was elected Treasurer of the GCB at the elections convened by the Cricket Ombudsman in accordance with the Guyana Cricket Administration Act, No. 14 of 2014.  It is sadly ironic that Jai died just after so much was achieved after that long struggle.

“Pretipaul’s passing is a tremendous loss to the wider cricket fraternity.  It is with heartfelt grief that the Executives of the GCB and the DCB and the staff members extend sincere sympathy to his family, relatives and friends.”