Former India captain Sourav Ganguly is all set to become only the second international cricketer to be elected president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar and off-spinner Shivlal Yadav too were BCCI presidents for the conduct of IPL and non-IPL activities in 2014 but they took charge following Supreme Court corders.
The Maharaja of Vizianagaram, Lt. Col. Pusapati Vijay Ananda Gajapathi Raju, was the first cricketer to be elected to the post in 1954.
The 47-year-old Ganguly, who has over five years’ experience in administration and is the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), filed his nomination for the BCCI’s top post at the Cricket Centre here on Monday. When the nominations closed at 3 p.m., there was no other applicant; same was the case with five other posts. Ganguly will be officially declared BCCI president at its AGM here on October 23.
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Ganguly did not give up hope after Brijesh Patel emerged the clear favourite during informal parleys among BCCI full members on Sunday. Fifteen years of international cricket (1992-2007) thrust him into the limelight; later, he connected with his fans as an IPL player and as a media personality.
His tenure may end after 10 months as he will run into the Lodha Committee’s recommended compulsory cooling off period after being an office-bearer for two consecutive terms, totalling six years. He has been a CAB office-bearer for more than five years.
The other key members of the BCCI’s governing body, called the Apex Council, will be Jay Shah, son of Union Home Minister and BJP president Amit Shah, and Arun Singh Dhumal, brother of Anurag Singh, MoS, Finance and Corporate Affairs.
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Shah will become the secretary and Dhumal the treasurer, posts that will make them members of the IPL Governing Council.