Sourav Ganguly fancied to become BCCI chief after Anurag Thakur’s exit
Sourav Ganguly has reportedly emerged as the front-runner to take over as BCCI president after Anurag Thakur was sacked from the post by the Supreme Court
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has emerged as the front-runner to take over as BCCI president after former president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke were sacked from their respective posts by the Supreme Court on Monday. (David Warner smashes ton in Sydney)
Ganguly is currently president of the Cricket Association of Bengal; one of the few state units that was willing to implement the Lodha reforms. The Bengal left-hander qualifies for the top role given he has attended two annual general meetings (AGM) — one of the criterions required to head the body. Anyone from the state associations can be nominated for the post and with Ganguly being a populist choice, the chances have increased.
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At present, C.K. Khanna, the vice-president from the Central Zone, is the senior most official in the BCCI. Besides Ganguly, the names doing the rounds are TC Matthew (vice-president, West Zone) and Gautam Roy (vice-president, East Zone) are also reported to be doing the rounds.
Former India captain and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Sourav Ganguly said it was too early to assume he might be the next BCCI president. “Please don’t speculate like this. It’s too early to say anything,” he told reporters here on Tuesday.
Asked if he is eligible for the post since he has been office-bearer for over two years now (as CAB joint-secretary and president), Ganguly said,”I still have two years. I have been president for one year,” he said.
Ganguly said all associations have to comply with the Lodha Committee recommendations. “There is no choice. We have to implement it,” he said. “I will talk to my own office-bearers tomorrow and decide soon. We will have to convene an SGM, most likely after the ODI (January 22) here,” he said.
Because of the Lodha recommendations, even the existing constitution is set to get affected and a number of state units and office-bearers are set to face the axe. Ganguly had been appointed as the CAB chief on September 24, 2015 following the demise of former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmmiya. He was also a part of the Justice Mukul Mudgal panel that probed the IPL betting and spot-fixing back in 2013.