Sourav Ganguly at a press conference after taking charge as the new BCCI President in Mumbai | Amey Mansabdar
The taking over was a mere formality. After Sourav Ganguly and his team of newly elected office-bearers took formal charge of Indian cricket on Wednesday morning, it was down to the nitty gritties. Ganguly and company met all the present eligible and ineligible state representatives, staff of the cricket board and the media. The Apex Council consists of all office-bearers, representatives of Indian Cricketers Association and IPL chairman Brijesh Patel.
Even as happy BCCI members left post lunch at the headquarters, the meetings continued, including briefings from CEO Rahul Johri, CFO Santosh Rangnekar and GM cricket Saba Karim among others. On Wednesday, Ganguly will meet Indian skipper Virat Kohli, coach Ravi Shastri and rest of the Indian team support staff. He will also meet the senior national selection committee led by M.S.K. Prasad who will later hold a meeting to select the team for the upcoming series against Bangladesh at home. Jay Shah, newly-elected secretary and son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah will convene his first selection committee meeting.
Ganguly walked in as captain of a team of administrators wearing the blue blazer he wore as India player. Underlying the importance he gave to the chair and responsibility, he was extremely nostalgic of what it meant. “This city and ground have been good to me. This ground has never let me down, hopefully it will not do so now,” he said mentioning the Wankhede stadium which houses the BCCI headquarters.
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While the meeting between Indian team management and Ganguly is keenly anticipated owing largely to the history of Shastri's appointment when Ganguly was in the Cricket Advisory Committee set up by the CoA, the former Indian captain laid all doubts to rest, terming Kohli as “the most important man in Indian cricket.”
Speaking about the balance of power having shifted to the team management in absence of any institutional check in the last three years, Ganguly said, “We will support him in every way possible. We are here to make their (team management's) life easier. Every thing will be judged on basis of performance. Performance will decide future of everyone.”
He praised the team's performance saying it’s the best in the world and brushed aside calls for split captaincy. “That is the purview of selectors. There is no need for these questions (on split captaincy).”
He, however, declared that as long as he is there, respect will be given to players. When asked about Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s future, Ganguly said, “I will talk to him. He is a great player. Till I am around every body will be respected.”
Ganguly indicated that changes to domestic tournament structure were imminent. The Apex Council is likely to introduce them before Ranji Trophy kicks off this season.
The BCCI is likely to call a special general body meeting in due course to pass accounts, and decide on key appointments such as CAC.
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