It's time to give the devil his due. No man in cricket has been at the receiving end of so much invective-laden prose in the last few months as Jagmohan Dalmiya. Events during that time would also indicate that no man is doing as much good for Indian cricket as he is.

Consider what he's been up to since he regained the presidentship of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) last September. To begin with, he revived the concept of A-tours, so crucial for giving overseas exposure to India's emerging cricketers, and separating the men from the boys. Under his stewardship, India-A teams have toured South Africa and Sri Lanka, and an India under-19 team will soon be on its way to England.

His attitude towards the Indian team itself has been proactive, and firm. The BCCI President's relation with the team should ideally be of guide and facilitator. By guiding four key Indian players away from a commercial shoot to South Africa in between the tours to West Indies and England, he helped introduce a sense of perspective into the situation. It was, in the first place, ridiculous for the players to complain about the rigours of a packed cricketing schedule, and then fly halfway across the world to shoot commercials. Dalmiya told them, in his understated yet firm manner, where their priorities should lie.

He brought a sense of accountability into the Indian team, making it clear to both John Wright and Sourav Ganguly that they would have to deliver to remain in their jobs. Having done that though, he also facilitated them in getting whatever they required, like a fitness trainer for example, in the form of Adrian le Roux. He backed them unflinchingly during the Mike Denness imbroglio, when he took on the might of the ICC on their behalf. His means were abominable in that case, but the end was admirable, and has been achieved, with certain basic player-rights, such as the right to appeal against a match referee's decision, being established.

He has an agenda to revamp domestic cricket as well; the first phase of that was his decision to relay eight select pitches across the country, so that cricket in India would be played on world-class sporting pitches instead of dustbowls, and would prepare domestic players for bigger struggles on a higher level. Many board officials before him had played lip-service to this cause; he showed the will to implement it.

And now, he has taken yet another quantum leap for Indian cricket, with his decision to introduce central contracts for the players with performance related pay. Central contracts have long been a player-demand, and the BCCI is structuring the system of central contracts beautifully, with a rationalisation of compensation which was, in hindsight, overdue. Players will get bonuses for wins and outstanding performance, and slashed payments for losses, and the emphasis on performance is welcome.

In Dalmiya's first stint as the President of the BCCI, he brought in a lot of funds for the board, but did not seem to have an agenda in place for what to do with the filled coffers. This time around, he has a sense of purpose, and the money is no longer the end, but the means to improving Indian cricket in a myriad different ways. Jagmohan Dalmiya is finally enriching Indian cricket in more than just the mundane sense of the word.

Amit Varma is assistant editor of Wisden.com India.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd