Ganguly can lead the ICC in the future - David Gower

The former England captain says Ganguly has acquitted himself well in the “tougher job” of serving as president of the BCCI.

Sourav Ganguly has the political skills and will do a good job as BCCI president, says Gower.

Former England captain David Gower, impressed by the leadership abilities of BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, believes he has what it takes to head the ICC in the future.

“One thing I have learnt over the years is that if you are going to run BCCI, you need to be many, many things. Having a reputation like [Ganguly] has is a very good start, but you need to be a very deft politician. You need to have control of a million different things,” Gower said ahead of Q20 , a unique chat show for the fans presented by GloFans .

Gower believes the job of the BCCI president is the toughest job imaginable in world cricket. “And of course, you need to be responsible for a game that is followed by, I mean, should we say a billion people here in India,” he said.

“We all know about the immense following for cricket in India. So it is indeed a wonderful thing to behold. Sourav has the toughest task imaginable in charge of BCCI, but so far I would say the signs are very good. He has listened, given his own opinion and has pulled strings gently,” he said.

‘Right attitude’

Political skills are a must in administration and that’s where Gower finds his fellow left-hander ticking all the boxes.

“He is a very, very good man and has those political skills. He has the right attitude and can keep things together and will do a good job. And if you do a good job as BCCI chief in the future, who knows? But I would actually say the more important job, to be honest, is running BCCI. Being head of ICC is an honour, there is a lot that can be done by ICC, but actually look at the rankings, look at where the power is heading up. BCCI is definitely the bigger job,” he said.

Gower believes World Test Championship has given the format much-needed context.

“The idea of this World Test Championship has come about for one very simple reason that people are worried about the survival of Tests. Back in the [1970s and the 1980s] I don’t think we needed context to be fair. Test cricket was very much more obviously the most important format and if there was anything to be judged by, it was the performances in Test matches both as an individual and as a team.”