Here we give you a lowdown of the issues that the former India captain will need to tackle as the head of world cricket’s richest body.

1. Position of India in the ICC:

Problem: It is no secret that India has lost its voice in the ICC and in the latest working group of the global body, there are no BCCI representatives. In the ‘Big Three Model’ (England, Australia and India) devised by former BCCI president N Srinivasan’s right-hand man Sundar Raman, India were supposed to get USD 570 million from ICC’s revenue-sharing model.

However, once Shashank Manohar took over, India lost the vote for ‘Big Three’ model and had to settle for USD 293 million (for 2016-2023 cycle), which still remains more USD 150 million more than England and Wales Cricket Board’s USD 143 million.

Sourav Ganguly will need to go to ICC as BCCI representative and there is a chance that the Board will get USD 405 million as its share of revenues, much more than any other nation.

Ganguly, at Wednesday’s press conference, spoke about getting USD 372 million from the ICC, mainly during the back-end of the eight-year cycle (2016-2023) where India hosts 2021 World T20 and 2023 ODI World Cup.

However, if former President N Srinivasan, who is the choice of board’s old guard, goes to the ICC as BCCI representative or for that matter Sundar Raman, Manohar, who is all set to get a third and final term, might go on warpath and BCCI won’t have votes.

2. Tax rebates for 2016 World T20 and future ICC events in India:

Ganguly will need all the support of BCCI’s legal and financial teams as ICC wants India to give a tax waiver for all the TV production equipment imported for the broadcasters. Manohar has also threatened that the amount of tax burden which the ICC bears will be deducted from the BCCI’s annual revenue.

Tax waiver is central government’s domain. If it didn’t change for Formula One or for any event which has an entertainment connect, there is little chance of BCCI getting a tax waiver.

The plausible solution could be asking Star Sports, who are ICC’s Broadcasters, to carry the tax burden as they have a big set-up in India and don’t need to import production equipments.

3. Payment of domestic cricketers

This has been an age-old issue in Indian cricket. Currently, a first-class cricketer receives Rs 1.4 lakh per match at Rs 35,000 per day (excluding daily allowance which is different for different states). At the end of the season, the BCCI also distributes 13 percent of the annual gross revenue earned from TV rights. A good first-class cricketer, who plays a decent amount of four-day, List A and T20 matches, earns around Rs 25 lakh per season.

Compared to international cricket, it’s quite low as the national players earn Rs 15 lakh per Test match (in playing XI and half if a member of the squad), Rs 8 lakh per ODI and Rs 4 lakh per T20 International. Apart from this, more than 20 players are in various central contract categories ranging from Rs 1 crore to Rs 7 crore.

This is one issue which is close to Ganguly’s heart. He will try to at least double the match fee and take it up to Rs 2.5 lakh per first-class match, besides increasing the share of domestic players in the gross revenue earned from TV rights.

4. Domestic Structure:

There are a few redundant ODI tournaments like Deodhar Trophy, the spacing of matches in Ranji Trophy, and the standard of umpiring.

More checks on umpiring exams, lessen the number of tournaments, better pitches in some of the first-class venues.

5. Day/Night Test cricket:

The BCCI started the experiment in 2016 with the Duleep Trophy but there were multiple complaints about the pink ball in use. The bowlers, the spinners mainly complained that the pink lacquer used was of inferior quality and it took them out of equation. The batsmen complained that the pink ball was difficult to sight during twilight hours when the ball swings the most.

At this point even the Indian team is not too keen on playing Day/Night Test matches and they had rejected Cricket Australia’s offer during the last away series.

Ganguly is a vocal advocate of day/Night Test matches which will bring the crowds back. However, there is one major issue with manufacturers. The pink SG Test ball is not of the best quality and if that can be upgraded and systemically started in the Ranji Trophy, pink ball Tests may be a reality. Ganguly will, at least, set the ball rolling even if it doesn’t happen during his tenure.

6. Conflict of Interest Issue:

He has been at the receiving end himself and saw his teammates Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman bear the brunt because of the rules where one person can only take up one job. This has restricted Ganguly’s options to get good quality cricketers for his Cricket Advisory Committee and the national selection panel.

The last CoA Status Report has demanded some relaxation on the rule where those without long-term contracts (less than two years) should be allowed to don multiple hats. If the Supreme Court agrees, it will be easier for Ganguly to get quality ex-players on board.

Article Courtesy – Outlook Web

In December 1973, I took the high school examination in my home town, Dehradun. I had to join university only the next July, and needed to find something productive — or at least interesting — to do in the interim. I had two options — to take up an offer to teach at the Scindia School, Gwalior, or to spend those six months in Bangalore, practising with the Friends Union Cricket Club, Bangalore.

Had I been more pragmatic, or had I more conventional parents, I would have chosen to go to Gwalior. But I was then obsessed with cricket, playing cricket, and my parents were indulgent. So I took a bus to Delhi, where I boarded the Grand Trunk Express to Madras. From there I proceeded by the Brindavan Express to Bangalore, to deposit myself in the care of my uncle, captain of the aforementioned Friends Union Cricket Club.

In those months in Bangalore, I went to the FUCC nets every afternoon. Between two and four pm, I fielded, as a procession of first-rate batsmen came in and out of the nets. In the last hour, as the lesser players came in, I would bowl my off-breaks.

Playing with the FUCC improved my cricketing skills (somewhat). Yet the greatest benefit of those months in Bangalore was something I had not anticipated — the opportunity to watch the country’s top cricketers playing the then very prestigious Ranji Trophy tournament. When I chose to go to Bangalore, Karnataka was playing their league matches in the South Zone. By the time I arrived, they had qualified for the knock-out rounds. Thus it was that, in the month of March 1974, I watched what remained, 40 years later, the most memorable matches I have seen live. These were the Ranji quarter-final, played against Delhi, and the semi-final, against Mumbai.

Both matches were played in the then half-finished KSCA Stadium, and both saw the home team win. Karnataka beat Delhi largely because we had two great slow bowlers, Prasanna and Chandrasekhar, whereas they had only one, their skipper, Bishan Bedi. And we beat Bombay only because of two human errors.

In 1974, Bombay had won the Ranji Trophy the last 15 times in succession. To this generic domination, we Karnataka followers noted a more specific one: in the last decade, our team had played Bombay four times, to be badly beaten on each occasion. This time, we batted first, and lost a wicket to the second ball of the match. To me and the other 20,000 in the stands it looked as if history was repeating itself. It should have, had the umpire not been intimidated by the reputation of the man who had come in to bat. This was G.R. Viswanath. The first delivery he received was a sharp inswinger, which hit him low on the back leg, in front of middle stump. On the theory that one did not give a genius out first ball, the umpire (whose name I have forgotten) let him bat on.

Vishy went on to score a glittering 162. Brijesh Patel also scored a hundred, taking Karnataka to 385 all out. The last time Karnataka (then Mysore) had scored in excess of three hundred batting first against Bombay, Ajit Wadekar had got a triple century off his own bat. He might have on this occasion, too. He and Ashok Mankad — another masterful player of spin — were going along very nicely on the third day. They had already added 127 for the third wicket, when Mankad played a ball towards point. Wadekar made for a single but was sent back. As he turned, he slipped. He regained his footing, but in the meantime, the fielder, who was that proud FUCC lad Sudhakar Rao, had sent a swift and accurate throw back to the bowler, the home team’s skipper, Erapalli Prasanna. Now ‘Pras’ was known to lazily drop catches in the slips, but — having waited for the moment for the past decade, and more — he was not going to drop this ball. He caught it safely and took off the bails with Wadekar still a foot out of his ground.

Once Wadekar was gone, Pras and Chandra took care of the rest. We won comfortably on the first innings. We now travelled to Jaipur to play Rajasthan in the finals, a match I merely listened to on the radio, but always contentedly, in the knowledge that having beaten Delhi and Bombay we were going to win this one easily. And so we did.

While watching those matches at the KSCA Stadium I must have read, each morning, the Deccan Herald, then Bangalore’s premier English-language newspaper. I recently looked up the issues for those weeks in March-April 1974, to find some intriguing details I had forgotten. The report on the second day’s play of the Karnataka-Bombay match carried this headline: “Bombay wrests initiative in Ranji semi-final”. With “skipper Wadekar in excellent form”, and Mankad, also set, with him, and with Sudhir Naik, Eknath Solkar, Milind Rege and Rakesh Tandon to follow, the paper wrote that “Bombay appear to have an edge over Karnataka as far as the first innings lead is concerned”. Like the rest of us, Deccan Herald’s cricket correspondent had not reckoned with that fatal slip.

The day after Karnataka defeated Rajasthan, the Deccan Herald ran an editorial which began: “It is with pardonable pride that Karnataka hails the triumph of its cricket team which for the first time has captured the Ranji Trophy…” They singled out the skipper, writing: “To have welded quite a number of players with different temperaments and varying outlooks on the game into a formidable striking force, playing cricket in the true spirit and yet with the will to win, is no easy job. And here it is that Prasanna has magnificently acquitted himself.”

Reading those old issues of the Deccan Herald was revealing, not least for recalling how that first Ranji victory was celebrated in Bangalore. When the train carrying the players arrived at City Railway station on the morning of April 1, 1974, some 3,000 fans were there to receive them. At the front of the gathering were the city’s mayor, T.D. Naganna, and the president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, the legendary M. Chinnaswamy. That afternoon, the governor (as it happened, a Rajasthani, Mohanlal Sukhadia) hosted them for tea, following which they proceeded for dinner at the grand banquet hall of the Vidhan Souda, where they were received by the state’s chief minister, Devaraj Urs.

At or between the events hosted by the governor and chief minister, the cricketers were given a printed invitation to attend an ‘after-dinner’ party the same day. This was issued in the name of the state industries minister, a certain S.M. Krishna. From the Vidhan Souda, Prasanna and his men, although weary, proceeded onwards to the minister’s house. When the cricketers reached they found Krishna missing, and his staff denied any knowledge of the invitation. They were, they now found, victims of a prank, this being April Fool’s Day.

A few days later, the Karnataka State Sports Council threw a reception for the cricketers, where they were presented with a cheque of Rs 1,000 each. I could find no report of either the state government or (more surprisingly) the KSCA giving them a monetary reward, and of course, there was no cash prize for the Ranji Trophy winners then. (By contrast, the Karnataka team that won this year’s Ranji Trophy got Rs 2 crore from the BCCI, as well as one crore apiece from the KSCA and the state government).

Some 20 years after I watched Karnataka defeat Bombay for the first time, I met Ajit Wadekar at a reception in New Delhi. I reminded him about the match and how he had got out, adding that had he not slipped he would still be batting at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. His answer, offered with a laconic shrug of the shoulders, was: “New shoes.”

ramachandraguha@yahoo.in

Sourav Ganguly formally assumed charge of the BCCI on Wednesday, becoming the 39th BCCI president. After his election was formalised, the former India captain held forth on a variety of topics, and outlined his vision forward for Indian cricket. Excerpts:

It must be a big challenge to take over after these 33 months when the Supreme Court had to intervene.

It’s an honour that I’ve been asked to take this role by the members. It’s a new start for the BCCI. Coincidentally – fortunately or unfortunately – when I became captain it was a similar sort of a situation and I captained India for six years. And this is a similar sort of situation. Things need to be brought back in place, reforms need to be done, huge amounts of money needs to be paid to state associations. So it’s a completely new start. From that point of view, I find myself in a position where I can make a change, and it’s a challenge. I’ll do it the way I know, in the way I feel is best for BCCI, with no compromise on credibility, and corruption free. That’s the way I led India and that’s the way I will take forward this organisation in whatever time I have. It’s a pretty young group, Jay [Shah] is the secretary, Arun [Singh Dhumal] is the treasurer, Jayesh [George] is the joint-secretary. It’s a pretty young team so we will have to do a lot of hard work. We don’t know what’s happened in the last three years, there was no AGM or working committee meeting, there were no committee meetings so we have no idea how it has happened. So we’ll take note of everything and then do what is required for BCCI and Indian cricket. We all must understand that we’re here to work for Indian cricket, that’s what the job of the BCCI is. The game on the field – international cricket, domestic cricket, IPL cricket, and we will do that to the best of our abilities.

What’s your view on Virat Kohli’s comments on having only five Test venues or centres in India?

I’ll speak to him tomorrow. He’s the captain of India, he is the most important man in Indian cricket. We’ll have a word with him, and as I said, we’ll support him in every possible way. He wants to make this team the best in the world. It’s been a great team to be honest with you, the way we have played cricket in the last three-four years. It’s a fantastic side, yes, you can say they haven’t won the World Cup but you don’t win World Cups every time. We’ll support him for whatever he wants and make sure that Indian cricket goes ahead smoothly. In terms of the Test venues, we have a lot of space and venues so we’ll have to sit with him and see what he wants and take it forward.

Due to a lack of institutional check, there’s a sense that the Indian team management was becoming very powerful and there was nobody to check that. How do you look at that?

I really don’t know what had transpired with the CoA and Virat and Ravi (Shastri). But the new body has taken over, the new office bearers have taken over, so it will be a proper discussion and everything would be mutually discussed. But be rest assured that we are here to make their life easier, not make their life difficult. And everything will be on the basis of performance. Performance is the most important thing and that’s what will decide the future of Indian cricket.

As I said Virat Kohli is the most important man in this entire context. We will be there to support him. We will listen to him, because I have been a captain myself and I understand (what is needed) from that position, and we will deal with it. It is a mutual respect which will be there, so discussions will be there and we will do what is best for the game.

I don’t think there was a gap in connectivity earlier. When I was the captain, (Jagmohan) Dalmiya ji was the Board President. I don’t remember a day when we asked for something and it was refused to us. When (N) Srinivasan ji was the president, MS Dhoni was India’s captain, and you know how good their relation has been. Now Virat is captain, and I will have the type of relation with him where he will get whatever he needs for India to play well. And he is a very big player. Just see his game from the last four-five years, he’s just taken Indian cricket to a different level. We have been with him, and we will remain with him and give him everything that his team needs to be the best.

Have you given any thought to whether split captaincy is needed for India?

That is the job of the selectors. And when that issue comes up we’ll decide. Right now, India is winning. So there is no need for that question. Right now, perhaps India is the best team in the world, so I don’t think that question is needed.

Have you spoken to MS Dhoni yet?

No, I haven’t spoken with him yet. I have just taken over today so hopefully we will meet soon and have a word with one of the greats of Indian cricket.

You have had a lot of comebacks, so are you rooting for a comeback for Dhoni as well?

It depends on him. I’ve always said – even when I was left out and when the entire world said that, ‘he’ll never make it’ – I believed in myself and came back and played for four years. You know champions don’t finish very quickly. I don’t know what’s in his mind, what he thinks about his career, so we’ll deal with that. He’s one of the greats of the game. India is very proud to have MS Dhoni. His achievements, when you sit down and take note of what he’s done, you say, ‘Wow, MS Dhoni!’ So, till I’m around, everybody will be respected. That doesn’t change.

“It depends on him. When I was left out, I believed in myself and came back and played for four years. You know champions don’t finish very quickly.”

Sourav Ganguly on MS Dhoni’s future

Has it been decided who will represent India at the ICC?

No, it has not been decided. We’ll take a call. But I think the ICC matter, it’s important for everyone to know. Don’t just go on hearsay. India is supposed to get 372 million (USD) from the ICC in the five-year cycle, which very heavy at the back end, because there are two world tournaments. There is a 2021 [2020] World Cup in Australia, and then they come to India for the Champions Trophy, which is a T20 in any case [2021 T20 World Cup], and then the World Cup. So a lot of the ICC money is the back-end money. Till now we’ve got whatever it is, but we’ll make sure that we get our due. We will work with the ICC and take this forward.

Have the BCCI’s accounts been passed?

No, the accounts haven’t been passed. This was a general body meeting, not the annual general meeting so accounts need to be passed at the AGM. We’ll call an AGM in three weeks’ time and pass it. We also need to go through it because we are new so we don’t have an idea of what expenses have happened in the three years. We’ll call an AGM and then pass it. We’ll send a notice for the AGM soon.

Domestic cricket has suffered on many counts in the last few years. Would that be your priority?

That will be the first thing we’ll do and we’ll get it done before the actual Ranji Trophy season starts. The structures are there, the tournaments are there. In the last three years the matches have doubled actually. When I played for Bengal and some of my colleagues played for the other states, there were about 1000 games to be played. Now there are 2000 games between states and the affiliates. So we have to account for it. We have to make sure the best tournament in the country is competitive, and it remains important to everyone now because that’s where you get the Kohlis and MS Dhonis, Ajinkya Rahanes and Rohit Sharmas of Indian cricket. So that structure has to be the best, both structure-wise and financially, and that will happen. That will be the first thing that will be done by the Apex Council.

The way Mumbai, Punjab were knocked out of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, wasn’t that wrong?

See these are rules. At the end of the day, when the Vijay Hazare started, the rules were put down and sent to all state associations. It’s a similar thing to what happened in the World Cup final. When New Zealand lost, everyone started jumping up and down with the rules, but New Zealand were aware of the rules. It’s just unfortunate that they were on the wrong side of the rules. So we will assess it, try and make it simpler.

The rule was that whoever won more matches went through, which is also a way of saying you give value to your performances in the group stages. So it’s not something which is completely wrong. Yes, the pertinent point is whether a reserve day could be kept for the knockouts. The quarter-finals, semi-finals are very important, which is a practical thing. So yes, that could be an option which could be taken. But you must remember, whatever happened, it was as per the basis of rules that were there form the start of the tournament.

There have been complaints about the fan experience in the South Africa Test series.

Yes but the same fans turn up for IPL isn’t it? Where it’s choc-a-block in the same stadium. So it’s a bit more than just stadiums. Test cricket needs a revisit of how it can be popularised. Eden Gardens will host Bangladesh on November 22, and we don’t know what’s going to happen in that Test match. But you see an IPL game – and I was involved with the Delhi Capitals last year – you just couldn’t keep people happy by giving tickets. Same stadium, same toilet, same ground, and people come in and turn up in huge numbers. I think the problem is somewhere else. But at the same time, infrastructure has to be done properly. But if you look at some of the new stadiums, they are remarkable. You go to Hyderabad, you go to Nagpur, the new stadium in Mumbai, Ranchi – it’s fantastic. As much as you say that part needs to be looked at, and rightly so that part needs to be looked at.

“I was involved with the Delhi Capitals last year – you just couldn’t keep people happy by giving tickets. Same stadium, same toilet, same ground, and people come in and turn up in huge numbers.”

Sourav Ganguly on fans’ experience in Indian stadiums

Has the Apex Council replaced the working committee? Have the powers of secretary and joint-secretary been curtailed?

No, it’s not correct, the Apex Council can give any powers to the office-bearers. It’s not the right interpretation of the (Supreme Court) order. If you look at the Apex Council powers, it will designate powers to the president, secretary and the treasurer and it can give them any power. All the office-bearers are very important for the functioning of BCCI… I wouldn’t use the word control, I don’t like that word. It’s about proper functioning of the BCCI. We have to be in the thick of things because at the end of the day, the responsibility has been put on us to get things going in the right direction.

Conflict is still an issue. I have seen the last status report filed by the CoA, they have addressed the conflict issue. I don’t know when it will be heard and when it will be solved. We have to create the CAC because they will appoint a lot of selectors and other members which are important parts of Indian cricket. So we will do that and we will make sure that they don’t have any conflicts of interest.

What do you think of Clause 38 (the conflict of interest clause)?

Conflict? That has to change the boss. It’s already done by the CoA. The administrators who vacated office today have already put it in the Supreme Court, so we’ll see how far it gets modified.

Kumar Sangakkara said you’re a fan of having cricket at the Olympics. Will you be looking to have it a part of the 2028 Olympics?

That’s a decision that has to be taken collectively. It’s also got to do with the Indian Olympic Association.

Are you confident of the Bangladesh tour happening?

I hope so because two days before I spoke to the honourable prime minister of Bangladesh and she has agreed to come and visit the Test match on November 22. When the the honourable prime minister has given the consent, I don’t see the national team not turning up. It’s their decision, it’s their internal matter where I don’t think we have any say or we should have any say.

Differently-abled cricketers are also part of the BCCI now, how do you plan to take it ahead because it’s not an organised space right now?

Yes, we’ll try and organise it. It’s a part of the constitution. Just like women’s cricket has got organised over the years, I’m sure this will also get organised with time. We’ll speak to the general manager of cricket operations and see how it has been so far and try and see how we can do it better.

Article courtesy – espncricinfo.com

The conference room on the first floor of the BCCI headquarters in south Mumbai has witnessed many press conferences by cricket administrators over the years. This Wednesday afternoon didn’t seem any different for the media persons who had started to sprawl on the floor after waiting for one-and-a-half hours.

As it usually happens, the BCCI media managers first clear the way for the administrators, who then stroll in like heavyweight boxers – at the pace they want, and surrounded by people. On this occasion, there was just a burst of buzzing among the people at the door of the room, quick removal of the lens covers by the camerapersons and the abrupt arrival of the new BCCI president. Sourav Ganguly paced inside with a visible focus and sat on his chair before you could blink twice.

The media manager always introduces the person about to speak, even if it is Virat Kohli. This time, he had just started to ask the press if their “cameras were rolling” and if everyone was ready. Ganguly cut him short and said, “Firstly, good afternoon everyone. And I’m ready, so you can start.” Zap came a question and pat went back the answer from Ganguly. He was not here to waste his or anyone’s time.

As my colleague Sharda Ugra observed, Ganguly wore black-rimmed glasses for a change to a press conference, and not his usual contact lenses. Was it for more gravitas as the BCCI overlord, while he answered one question after another about the state of affairs in Indian domestic cricket, the administration, the BCCI-ICC relationship, how Kohli and the teams had to be supported, and everything else that was asked? It was Ganguly’s first official day as the president but he had a grip on everything already. For not a single question did he appear ill-equipped or unprepared.

Neither did he beat around the bush as many BCCI office-bearers have in the past. It was this way or that for Ganguly, there were no creeks of vagueness or ambiguity his answers could fall into.

“Is domestic cricket your priority?” asked one.

“Yes, it’s the first thing the Apex Council will look at,” Ganguly replied with clarity.

“Is split captaincy on your agenda?” asked another.

“This is the work of the selectors,” he said, ending the discussion there.

At one point, a senior journalist asked him if the new Apex Council was going to effectively replace the working committee, and Ganguly cut him short, courteously but firmly. “No, it [the journalist’s interpretation] is not correct, the Apex Council can give any powers to the office-bearers,” he said. “It’s not the right interpretation of the [Supreme Court] order.” When he was asked about the BCCI’s representation at the ICC and about the revenue the Indian board gets, Ganguly explained the situation and even said, “don’t just go on hearsay”.

No airs because of his position, no irritable behaviour, no grumpiness.

Not just his entry and answers, his demeanour and conduct too were unlike any other administrator’s. Even when he visited the BCCI headquarters on Tuesday to meet the outgoing Committee of Administrators and the board CEO Rahul Johri, he was in formal-casual attire and sat next to the driver in the front of his car with a laptop bag on his right shoulder.

On Wednesday he arrived with the same blue bag on the same shoulder. No fancy Italian leather satchel, no assistant carrying his bureaucratic briefcase, and no deputy to open his car door. Nearly swallowed by the cameras, he soon entered the BCCI building in formal shirt and trousers, with a blue blazer hanging loose from his right hand.

Three hours later he appeared in front of the press wearing the same blazer with the BCCI emblem on the breast pocket. “I got this when I was captain of India and decided I will wear it [today] but did not realise that it was so loose,” he said with glee.

Before leaving for the BCCI office on Wednesday morning, Ganguly got a picture of him clicked at one of the top floors in his hotel. In the picture, now doing the rounds on social media, you can see the Arabian Sea on the left, the Wankhede floodlights almost lost in the high rises and the concrete horizon in the background, and the clearer Brabourne Stadium in the front on the right. Ganguly is standing on the left, wearing the same blue blazer, and looking back towards the two stadia with a glass wall separating them. You can barely see his face but you know he is smiling.

Mumbai will be like his second home for the next 10 months and it’s a city he shares a strong relationship with. “I came here as a young boy. I remember scoring my fist hundred for India here, it was against Pakistan in an Under-19 match at the Wankhede Stadium,” he recalled. “That hundred actually triggered my career off, I got picked for Ranji Trophy, my [first home] Test match hundred here, [I’ve had] Test wins here. And then coming back to the IPL last year for Delhi Capitals and winning again [against Mumbai Indians]. This ground (Wankhede) has never let me down so hopefully in my next role in a different capacity, I’ll be able to get this administration and Indian cricket stronger.”

In his 25-minute press conference as the BCCI president, Ganguly did not reveal anything starkly new compared to all he has spoken about in the last 10 days, in both Mumbai and Kolkata. But when he was asked to talk yet again after walking out of the BCCI office later in the evening, he said, “I’ve been giving bytes ever since I’ve taken over,” and drew laughter.

After the alleged cases of corruption, the Supreme Court’s intervention and the BCCI suffering in many ways in the last few years, cricket fans will now hope Ganguly starts his new stint the same way he ended his first day in the office: with purpose and clarity.

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has assured the Indian team management led by captain Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri that his board will make “life easy” and not “difficult” for them but pointed out that performance would be the ultimate yardstick. Ganguly also said he was waiting to have a word with MS Dhoni on his future, pointing out “champions don’t finish quickly.”

The 47-year old former India captain was speaking after his formal election as BCCI president, marking the end of the 33-month tenure of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA). Others elected today were Jay Shah (secretary), Arun Singh Dhumal (treasurer), Jayesh George (joint secretary) and Mahim Verma (vice-president).

Ganguly was all praise for Kohli who he said had taken Indian cricket to a “different level” since he took over as captain in 2015. India are currently the No. 1 Test team and are perched comfortably atop the World Test Championship table. In ODIs, they are behind England and in T20Is they are ranked fourth.

In light of that success, Kohli and Shastri became two of the most powerful people in Indian cricket. Ganguly is scheduled to them on Thursday at the BCCI offices where the teams to play the home series against Bangladesh would be picked.

“I really don’t know what had transpired with the CoA [the previous regime] and Virat and Ravi,” Ganguly said in his first media briefing as BCCI president in Mumbai. “But the new body has taken over, the new office bearers have taken over, it will be a proper discussion and everything would be mutually discussed. But be rest assured that we are here to make their life easier, not make their life difficult. And everything will be on the basis of performance. Performance is the most important thing and that’s what will decide the future of Indian cricket.”

Ganguly made it clear that Kohli was the “most important” person in Indian cricket at the moment. “We will be there to support him. We will there to listen to him because I have been a captain myself and I understand from that position and we will deal with it. It is a mutual respect which will be there, so discussions will be there and we will do what is best for the game.”

On Tuesday, after India’s 3-0 Test series win over South Africa, Kohli felt Test cricket should be hosted by a maximum of five key venues, a system which is followed in England and Australia. Kohli said it helped bring in better crowds and add to the Test-match culture in those countries and it might be something for the BCCI to look into.

The issue had come up in light of poor crowds in two of the three Tests (Pune and Ranchi) and there had already been a precedent – Dhoni had made a similar suggestion in 2010. Ganguly was open a discussion around it, saying “in terms of the Test venues, we have a lot of space, lot of venues. So we will have to sit with him [Kohli] and see what he wants and take it forward.”

With a selection meeting scheduled for Thursday, the question on Dhoni’s future came up once again. The 38-year old hasn’t played for India since the end of the World Cup in July and it doesn’t seem likely that he will be back to play the series against Bangladesh. “It is unlikely Dhoni would be picked for the Bangladesh series which comprises three T20Is and two Tests considering he has not played any cricket after the World Cup.”

When asked if he had reached out to Dhoni, Ganguly said, “I have not spoken to him yet. Hopefully we will meet soon and have a word with one of the greats in Indian cricket.”

Ganguly was not shy about recalling instances from his own career – which began in 1992 and ended in 2008 -when asked about how long Dhoni could continue playing for India.

“It depends on him,” Ganguly said. “I’ve always said that even when I was left out [in 2005] and when the entire world said he’ll never make it I believed in myself and came back [in 2007] and played for four years [domestic cricket included]. You know champions don’t finish very quickly. I don’t know what’s on his mind, what he thinks about his career. So we will deal with that. He is one of the greats of the game. India is very proud to have MS Dhoni. When you sit down and make note of what he has done, you still say “wow”.”

Ganguly also brushed aside the question of whether India needed to look at the split captaincy. “It is the job of the selectors (to decide that),” he said before adding, “India is winning, so the question is not necessary at the moment. India is the best team in the world right now so that question is not necessary right now.”

Article courtesy – espncrininfo.com

Among the five newly elected office bearers who are set to take over their positions in the BCCI, Sourav Ganguly is the only one who needs no introduction. The other four, from different state associations, with varying backgrounds, are familiar with cricket administration but the fans might not be familiar with them. So, here’s an introduction.

Jay Shah, secretary (from Gujarat Cricket Association)

The youngest office bearer in the new BCCI administration by a distance, 31-year-old Jay Shah has been with the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) since 2009 and is Indian home minister Amit Shah’s son. Jay, an engineer, was elected as an executive board member in the Central Board of Cricket, Ahmedabad, in May 2009, and he took over as the joint-secretary of the GCA in September 2013.

Arun Singh Dhumal, treasurer (from Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association)

Elected president of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) last month, Arun Singh Dhumal is also the younger brother of former BCCI president Anurag Thakur, the current Indian minister of state for finance and corporate affairs.

Dhumal, 44, brings with him three years of administrative experience at the HPCA, having served as the vice-president from 2012 to 2015, during Thakur’s stint as president, before he had to step down because of the Supreme Court of India’s intervention following the Lodha Committee’s recommendations on administrative reform. Dhumal then led the three-member ad-hoc committee that was set up to lead the HPCA until the association adopted a new constitution in line with the Lodha reforms.

As the HPCA’s vice-president, Dhumal oversaw the association’s day-to-day cricketing operations and the development of the stadium in Dharamsala, which started hosting international matches in January 2013. Dhumal has also represented HPCA at BCCI meetings in the past.

Jayesh George, joint-secretary (from Kerala Cricket Association)

Jayesh George has the most varied experience among the new BCCI office bearers. At the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA), he has held the posts of joint-secretary, treasurer, secretary and, most recently, president after the state elections last month.

George started as a wicketkeeper-batsman for Swanton Cricket Club in Ernakulam, where former India quick Tinu Yohannan also played, and became part of the KCA as a district representative in 2005. He was then an office bearer from 2013 to 2018 in three different capacities: joint-secretary, secretary and treasurer.

He has also been the manager of India A teams on overseas tours of Australia and New Zealand recently. At 50, he is the oldest of the BCCI’s five office bearers.

Mahim Verma, vice-president (from Cricket Association of Uttarakhand)

Mahim Verma first aspired to be a professional cricketer but an accident in his youth forced him to turn to cricket administration to stay in the sport.

His father, PC Verma, was the secretary of the Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU), and Mahim took over as the joint-secretary in 2009. He held that position for 10 years until last month, when he was elected as the secretary unopposed, only weeks after the association got BCCI affiliation. Verma, 45, now hopes to bring more international cricket and IPL games to Uttarakhand.

“It is like a dream come true, a few weeks ago we were running around to get BCCI affiliation for CAU,” Verma told the Times of India last week. “But now they have rewarded Uttarakhand cricket in a big way by appointing me as the vice-president of BCCI.”

Article courtesy – espncrininfo.com

In an exclusive interview with Outlook, former India women’s cricket team captain Shantha Rangaswamy revealed that her former side’s 1976-77 Test series Vs new Zealand should be given “official status”.

Shantha Rangaswamy was India’s first woman Test captain when the team opened its account against the visiting West Indies in November 1976 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

One of the issues that Shantha Rangaswamy, India’s first woman Test captain, wants to take up with the new Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), is to get the unofficial ‘Tests’ played on New Zealand’s 1976-77 tour of India declared official. For this, she wants new BCCI president Sourav Ganguly to take up the issue with his counterpart in New Zealand and also with the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The 65-year-old rues that her 500-plus runs scored in that five-match ‘Test’ series and her teammate and ace left-arm spinner Diana Edulji’s 20-odd wickets are not part of the official records. “That is a little hurting,” says Shantha. The 5-foot-8.5-inch tall former banker, who is also part of the BCCI Apex Council as a representative of the newly formed Indian Cricketers’ Association (ICA), feels it’s never too late to rectify the records, and that she would take up this issue with Ganguly and others in the BCCI.

Shantha was India’s first woman Test captain when the team opened its account against the visiting West Indies in November 1976 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, her home city. She went on to play 16 Tests and 19 ODIs between 1976 and 1991, scoring 750 Test and 664 ODI runs. She also bagged 21 Test and 12 ODI wickets. Later, the Bachelor of Arts degree holder served Indian cricket in different capacities, including as a member of the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee, recently, and as chairperson of the national women’s selection committee a few years ago, having retired as General Manager of Canara Bank in Bangalore.

Recently, Shantha was elected among the three of the ‘Institutional Members’ from the Bangalore Zone, representing Mount Joy Cricket Club, in the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) elections. But when she was later elected unopposed for the post of ‘Female ICA Representative Nominee to BCCI Apex Council, she resigned from her KSCA post. She says she could return to Karnakata cricket administration after her tenure with the ICA gets over.

You played 16 Tests and 19 ODIs between 1976 and 1991. What are your most cherished moments?

Two things stand out. One is the win against the West Indies under my captaincy, in the Patna Test match in 1976. It was India’s first-ever win in Test matches. And then my century in the Dunedin Test against hosts New Zealand, in January 1977. The point is that the team that we played in New Zealand played against us in five Tests in India also. But when we toured New Zealand, the Test in Dunedin was given the official status and when the same New Zealand team visited India in 1976-77 the Tests were declared unofficial. That needs a relook. My 527 runs in five Tests — I got a century, 119, in Pune — have gone down the drain. What would have happened if I had not scored a century in Dunedin? Diana, I think, got 20-odd wickets in that series. So, many players who played those Tests are not being recognised as those matches were called unofficial. That is a little hurting. Maybe our people [BCCI officials] told [New Zealand] to send a team that’s a blend of youth and experience. But the same team played when we went there.

Did you later take up this issue with authorities?

See, my point is that the International Women’s Cricket Council (IWCC) did not agree. Later, it was merged with the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2005. It’s never too late [to give official status to those Tests vs New Zealand]. At least, now we want to make a case out of it. So many players who played then are deprived of some benefits from the BCCI because those Tests were turned unofficial. We played the same New Zealand team, and that’s what is irking me. Sad that many players missed the Board’s benefits because of one wrong classification. I am sure, it can be rectified and those Tests can be made official. We will make a submission, and the BCCI, which is in such a position, can take it up with New Zealand and the ICC, and reclassify them as official Tests.

Women’s Test match cricket is almost dead. India played their last Test match six years ago.

In 2014 or 2015, when I was the chaired the national selection committee, I wanted India to play a Test – we played against South Africa and England — but New Zealand refuses to play, saying that they don’t play the longest format at all. Now the BCCI also stopped talking about Test cricket. Australia and England still play, we should play with people who are ready to play Test cricket. But some somehow that’s not happening. We need to revive that. At least, when England and Australia visit India, we should have Tests. But that is somehow not happening. It is one of the items I would like to take up for discussion also. Let’s see. Sourav Ganguly is there as BCCI president. When he says that he wants to do something for first-class cricketers, I suppose he includes women players also. So, that’s a good sign. Hopefully, half of our work will be done. What we need to do, he himself is proposing. If it happens, it will be a shot in the arm for all women cricketers who slogged all their lives to help sustain this game. If we had not played well initially, the women’s cricket would have been dead by now. But it’s because we laid a solid foundation, the game has survived.

ICC must take the initiative. So what, as it men’s cricket draws a lot of crowd. You saw the Pune Stadium [during the recent India-South Africa second Test recently]? It was virtually empty. It’s bound to happen because of TV coverage; it’s so good that people can watch matches from across the globe from their drawing rooms. How do the Ashes Tests get the crowds? When India tours abroad the Indian population comes to watch. Likewise, if we persist, interest can be developed.

Now that you are in the BCCI, along with male ICA representative to Apex Council Anshuman Gaekwad and Mohammed Azharuddin (as president of Hyderabad Cricket Association), and Sourav will also, I think, support you on this point.

Sourav was a captain par excellence; an aggressive captain. He is speaking of taking care of domestic players. So, I’m sure a man with such ideas will not oppose this.

You now have a platform in the form of the ICA – the players’ voice – and you have three players in the BCCI Apex Council in Ganguly, Gaekwad and you. Azharuddin is likely to head a cricket committee.

Unless they redefine the conflict of interest, no one can be in two committees.

But Azharuddin is not in any BCCI committee; he’s president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association.

No, he is not. But if he gets into another committee [of the BCCI], say, technical committee, then? That’s why I am saying they have to redefine the conflict of interest. That’s the first job the BCCI will have to do, otherwise, where will they get quality players from? Let’s take the case of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC). It meets once in six months, or a year, or two years. If Kapil Dev, Laxman, Ganguly and myself have resigned, which player will come? Dravid is training the future cricketers of India and he is besieged by this problem. Many will say ‘why should we put up with this [conflict of interest by accepting BCCI posts]?’ They will just chuck it. That’s the reason I am saying that, hopefully, the BCCI will redefine what the conflict of interest means and get the approval of the Supreme Court, so that we don’t discourage experienced, quality cricketers from entering into such committees. [The Committee of Administrators has in its 11th Status Report submitted with the Supreme Court, appealed to it to make the Conflict of Interest rule flexible.]

Coming back to the lack of crowds in Test cricket, the initiative has to come from the top, isn’t it?

ICC, per se, in my opinion, because you cannot ignore the aesthetic value of Test cricket. And I would want the under-19 and under-23 players to play longer duration matches, especially the under-19, so that they don’t get corrupted with their technique. Kohli can play any format because of his superior technique. But others play across the line etc., because they don’t play [sufficient] longer duration games. Earlier, the BCCI had inter-state and inter-zonal tournaments of two-day games for under-19 to ensure that they learn the game the right way. I would say you have to have it. The Indian Board has been very powerful for the last 10-15 years; they can ask them to play Test matches. But a prod, a push is needed from the ICC.

What are your feelings at breaking the glass ceiling – i.e. the male bastion – and entering the BCCI as a ‘female representative’ of the officially recognised Indian Cricketers Association (ICA)?

I am very happy for women cricketers. I am only their representative. It’s not just me. It may be a small step for me, but it’s a giant leap for Indian women’s cricket. It’s like entering the ‘temple’ of Indian cricket, which is the BCCI.

Are you a little bit nervous at entering this ‘temple’?

Not at all, not at all. I was a general manager in a nationalised bank [Canara Bank]; I have attended Board meetings; I was a director of a couple of companies in my capacity as General Manager of Canara Bank. Plus, I have attended a lot of the [Supreme Court-appointed and GK Pillai-headed] Steering Committee meetings of the BCCI. I have attended the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) meetings. So, I am definitely not nervous; but I am enthusiastic. The enthusiasm is there like a school kid.

Article courtesy – Outlook Web