Dnyaneshwar Agashe

Dnyaneshwar Chandrashekhar Agashe (17 April 1942 – 2 January 2009) was an Indian businessman, cricketer, cricket administrator, and philanthropist. He founded the Suvarna Sahakari Bank in 1969, and served as its managing director from its inception until his death. From 1970 to 1978, he served as the joint managing director of the Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd. with his brother, and then as the company's sole managing director from 1978 until his death.

A first-class cricketer in his youth, he played as a batsman for the Maharashtra cricket team at the Cooch Behar Trophy, as a wicket-keeper-batter for the West Zone cricket team, and as a wicket-keeper for the Indian Universities cricket team between 1955 and 1968. He then shifted to cricket administration, and was twice elected vice president of Board of Control for Cricket in India, serving his second and final term from 1995 to 1999. He unsuccessfully contested for the presidency of the Board twice; first in 1996 after Inderjit Singh Bindra's term ended, losing to Raj Singh Dungarpur; and again in 1997, losing once again to then-incumbent Dungarpur.

His later years were marred with controversy and scandal, with factionalism disputes at the Maharashtra Cricket Association between 2003 and 2005, that saw him resign his record seventh term as executive chairman, having served in that role since 1989. This was followed by judicial proceedings against him and his family, when scam allegations were lobbied against the Suvarna Sahakari Bank in 2008, just before his death.

Remembered for his philanthropy towards education in Pune, he served on the board of the Deccan Education Society, provided funding for the foundation of the Panditrao Agashe School, and further served as vice chair of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. A patron of the arts and of Marathi literature, he donated to the collections of the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum, and served as the publisher for numerous writers, poets, and playwrights in the Marathi language.