Former India captain Sourav Ganguly was on Monday elected unopposed the new President of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) in a dramatic turn of events in the race for the for the top post of the world’s richest cricket body in which he pipped another former cricketer Brijesh Patel.
It is understood that the BCCI members, who met in Mumbai on Sunday, have unanimously nominated 47-year-old Ganguly to take charge of the Board. Accordingly, no other nomination was filed for the post of BCCI President.
Ganguly will have a tenure of ten months as BCCI chief before fresh elections are held to the post of its office-bearers for a fresh full term.
Ganguly held a meeting with Amit Shah in New Delhi on Saturday and when asked about whether he will have to campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal’s assembly polls due in 2021 , the former captain said "no, no nothing of that sort. Nobody told me anything," Ganguly said. Currently the President of Cricket Association of Bengal,(CAB), Ganguly will have to step down from his post as he will go into mandatory cooling off period before taking over as
BCCI President.
Ganguly told reporters in Mumbai on Monday that becoming the BCCI chief offered him an opportunity for him to do something good" as he is taking over the reigns of the board at a time when it's image has got a serious beating.
He also said his first priority in the short tenure would be to look after the financial health of "first-class cricketers" and he plans to meet all stakeholders in Indian cricket and wants to do something that Committee of Administrators (CoA) didn't do for 33 months.
Asked how it felt to occupy the post once held by his mentor Jagmohan Dalmiya, Ganguly said “I have never imagined so (that I will be in shoes of late Jagmohan Dalmiya). He has been like a father to me. There has been some great presidents of BCCI, Mr Srinivasan, Anurag, who have done great job," he said.
