Donning a navy blue blazer, which he received as an India captain before the 2003 World Cup, Sourav Ganguly walked in to address the media on Wednesday afternoon, but this time as the new president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
And the 47-year-old was nostalgic.
The memories of scoring his first century for India U-19 team against Pakistan at the Wankhede Stadium kept coming in and the former India captain admitted that it was that particular innings that shaped his career.
“It’s an honour that I have been asked to take this role by the members when it’s a new start for the BCCI. Coincidentally, fortunately or unfortunately, there was a similar sort of a situation even when I became captain of India; things need to be brought back in place, reforms need to be done, huge amounts of money needs to be paid to state associations,” Ganguly said.
“It’s a challenge. I’ll do it the way I know with no compromise on credibility. That’s the way I led India and that’s the way I’ll take this organisation forward. It’s a very young team, so we have to do a lot of hard work. We all must understand we are here to work for Indian cricket,” the former India captain said.
Soon after filing his nomination last week, Ganguly had said that his priority will be to work for the betterment of domestic cricket.
READ| Ganguly: We are here to make life easier for Kohli and Co.
“That will be the first thing we’ll do and we’ll get it done before the actual Ranji Trophy season starts…” Ganguly said.
In his 10-month tenure, Ganguly also wants to work with the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the betterment of the game. “The ICC matter is important for everyone to know, don’t just go on hearsay. India is to get 372 million from the ICC in the five-year cycle. It is a lot heavy at the back end because there are two World Cups — one T20 World Cup in Australia and the one in India (2021). Till now, we have got whatever it is and we make sure we get our due. We will work with the ICC and take this forward,” Ganguly said, making it clear that it is not yet decided on who will represent the BCCI at the ICC.
During his tenure as the Technical Committee chairman, Ganguly have been part of coach and players’ conclave — where suggestions were sought for the betterment of the game. He said, “Too many changes are not good for the game.”
“At times, it gets difficult for people to understand what exactly is going on and what are the rules and regulations. Most important aspect is the quality of the game, whether you play at international level, which is a challenge at the moment with teams like South Africa, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka going down the ladder a bit,” he added.
“I don’t think tweaking the format this way or that way will make that sort of a difference and neither there should be too much of tweaking every year. You need to hold the game together and what is important is the standard of the game.”
After Ganguly formally took over, former cricketers Dilip Vengsarkar and Lalchand Rajput had come to congratulate the new BCCI chief.
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