Time for Sourav Ganguly to give back to the game of cricket?
© PTI
Jagmohan Dalmiya's dramatic return as BCCI president could see a few changes in Team India's setup. It could also impact the composition of the IPL Governing Council. The man who is being seen as taking bigger responsibility in Indian cricket is former Test captain Sourav Ganguly.
Ganguly's career prospered when Dalmiya was at the helm of India cricket. All Indian cricketers need god-fathers and Ganguly had one in Dalmiya. The relationship between Dalmiya and Ganguly was more personal and less professional. Ganguly's father, Chandidas, and Dalmiya have run the Cricket Association of Bengal for several years together. Both had a common 'guru', former BCCI president Biswanath Dutt. (Also read: I was not supposed to contest BCCI elections, says Sharad Pawar)
After a sterling international career, Ganguly's aspiration to give something back to the game remains sky high. He is one of the most respected cricket commentators and is a joint secretary of the CAB, whose president is Dalmiya. According to reports, Dalmiya wanted Ganguly to represent the National Cricket Club in Monday's AGM in Chennai. Due to a technicality - Ganguly is not a member of NCC - the former skipper could not attend. (Time to give BCCI a new image, says BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur)
But that will not stop Dalmiya from bestowing bigger responsibilities to Ganguly. In the give-and-take game of BCCI politics, Dalmiya knows where and when to make compromises. Dalmiya's regaining the BCCI top post after being unanimously booted out in Jaipur in 2006 for financial scandal reflects his mastery over the numbers (read: votes) game. (BCCI elections: Mission accomplished, says Aditya Verma after Dalmiya replaces Srinivasan)
By Sunday afternoon, Dalmiya was sitting pretty as the would-be BCCI president. The unexpected support from Tripura and Assam left Dalmiya with four of the six votes from East Zone, whose turn it was to nominate a president. N. Srinivasan, whose dream for another term as Board chief was bolted by the Supreme Court, ensured Jharkhand and Orissa also fell in line. But nothing comes for free and Srinivasan extracted his pound of flesh. (Dalmiya scripts a stunning turn of fortunes)
So what was the deal? Simple.
(i) That Srinivasan will continue as chairman of ICC (ii) All six East Zone units will back Sanjay Patel as secretary. Patel lost to Anurag Thakur (the BJP MP who was fielded by the Sharad Pawar group) by the barest of margins but soon after the elections, the BCCI agreed that Srinivasan will continue to represent BCCI in the all-powerful ICC Executive Committee as chairman.
Jagmohan Dalmiya made a stunning return as BCCI president on Monday.
© AFP
This BCCI election is historic for the fact that Dalmiya was waging a lone battle himself and his executive committee was being virtually decided by two former presidents - Srinivasan and Pawar. While Dalmiya will preside over a house where most members are Srinivasan loyalists, the 74-year-old will certainly have a say in major cricketing decisions and that could happen as early as the Board's first working committee meeting.
Ganguly is being seen as the new IPL chairman. The former captain was part of the Supreme Court-appointed probe panel headed by Justice Mukul Mudgal. A man with a squeaky clean image, Ganguly may replace Ranjib Biswal, who was successful in staging an incident-free IPL 2014. But changing Biswal, a Srinivasan loyalist, will not be easy.
Will Ganguly be India's next coach after Duncan Fletcher's contract expires at the end of the World Cup? Or, will the Prince of Kolkata be the next team director after Ravi Shastri's run ends at the completion of the World Cup?
The probabilities are many and Dalmiya will love to stamp his authority upfront. Team India, with an abysmal overseas Test record, is on the threshold of a makeover under new Test captain Virat Kohli. And with Mahendra Singh Dhoni's ODI career uncertain, Team India will look for a new mentor, who can both inspire and demonstrate the game's top skills. Can there be a better man than Ganguly?
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