Sourav Ganguly,former captain of India who will shortly step down as BCCI president, has lost the board’s favour and is apparently leaving his time on a “disappointing” note.
With the exception of Ganguly and Jayesh George, the joint secretary, most members of the departing administration are expected to be elected to new positions during the next BCCI AGM and elections on October 18.
Ganguly is undoubtedly dissatisfied with the recent developments.
Roger Binny, former all-rounder for India, nominated himself on Tuesday for the position of BCCI president. Given that no other contender has yet to enter the race, he is certain to win the position without opposition.
As a normal practice, the outgoing BCCI president proposes the name of the upcoming board chief but a dejected Ganguly didn’t do the same with Binny. The former cricketer was to himself on Tuesday at the board’s office largely, while others were involved in the nomination process, a Cricbuzz report said.
“He clearly looked upset, disappointed and dejected,” said a member who was present at the BCCI office.
The 50-year old was the last one to leave the BCCI office after the nomination process ended, swiftly getting into his car and rolling up the glasses of the window. Outside the BCCI office, there were also murmurs among state representatives about the immediate future of Ganguly.
“Back to Kolkata,” someone suggested. “Back to Delhi,” another chimed in, hinting that he will go back to Delhi Capitals franchise of the IPL, as a director.
The report further said that Ganguly was told that his performance did not live up to the expectations although the official reason is that there is no precedent of a president holding two full terms, during an informal meeting among the senior past and current administrators from prominent state associations before the nomination day.
The fact that Ganguly endorses competing products upset the sponsors of the Indian cricket boards is another reason why he left his prized position. The members frequently discussed the issue.
Overall, Ganguly appears to have lost the BCCI’s attention, which also implies he is unlikely to be the BCCI’s choice for the ICC Chair, whose election is scheduled for next month.
Additionally, it has been reported that Ganguly received an offer to lead the IPL. The former left-handed batter, though, graciously turned down the offer. His justification was that he couldn’t accept leading a BCCI subcommittee after leading the same organisation.
(inputs from IANS)