Back at the helm

Sourav Ganguly | AFP

Sourav Ganguly has a knack of emerging as the chosen one from crises situations. In 2000, he was made captain of an Indian team reeling from match-fixing allegations. In 2015, after the sudden demise of Jagmohan Dalmiya, Ganguly became president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). On October 13, 2019, he emerged as the “largely consensus” candidate to take over the reins of the Board of Control for Cricket in India—the first duly elected president after the Justice Lodha reforms were implemented three years ago. He will take charge with the blessings of the ousted old guard and the BJP.

The presidential contest was a close race between Ganguly and former India batsman Brijesh Patel. The latter had the backing of former BCCI president N. Srinivasan and, with the tenure norm on his side, had seemed like an ideal candidate. However, the alleged closeness to Srinivasan ultimately became his downfall. Union Minister of State Anurag Thakur played the role of his mentor, the late Arun Jaitley, who commanded a huge chunk of votes in the BCCI. Thakur worked behind the scenes to tilt the contest in Ganguly’s favour. His line was that it would be better not to have a candidate backed by the controversial Srinivasan.

It is reliably learnt that Thakur and Rajeev Shukla—another senior administrator and member of the erstwhile Jaitley group—are disqualified from holding any posts in the BCCI over the tenure clause. Shukla, too, supported Ganguly. Srinivasan stuck to Patel, a former president of the Karnataka state association. BCCI members were fine with either of the two. What reportedly decided things was the intervention of the Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. It is learnt that Sarma convinced Union Home Minister Amit Shah to back Ganguly. The thinking being that Ganguly could be a “common link” between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP. The move could also give the BJP a toehold in maidan (sports clubs) politics, including the CAB.

Ganguly’s name for president was confirmed late at night, after the meeting between Shah and Sarma. Srinivasan and Patel had no option but to agree. In a show of unity by those no longer eligible to play a part in the BCCI, Ganguly was escorted to file his nomination by Srinivasan, former BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah and Shukla. Pro-reforms observers expressed their dismay at the sight of the anti-reforms group holding sway. Justice R.M. Lodha had already expressed his unhappiness at the dilution of key reforms. But, for most members, the sheer fact that this would end the reign of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) was enough.

“I am happy that the democratic process is back and office bearers will be duly elected,” said Niranjan Shah. “The biggest challenge for the new office bearers is to restore our pride and importance in the ICC.” He added that both were equally good candidates, but finally everybody agreed on Ganguly. “Brijesh has an equally important role, taking care of the best run T20 league in the world (as chairman of the IPL governing council),” he said.

Ganguly had not been committing to entering the president’s race, given that his tenure would be short as he was already CAB president, even as the clamour for him to take the plunge kept getting louder. He had the full backing of the east and northeast group, which had become stronger after the Supreme Court granted full member status to all northeastern states. Clearly he agreed to requests from those in power both at home and at the Centre. Meanwhile, Thakur, Srinivasan and Shukla had their men nominated for the remaining posts. As a result, Ganguly will lead a team of new faces—Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah will be secretary, Mahim Verma (Uttarakhand) vice president, Arun Singh Dhumal (Himachal Pradesh; brother of Thakur) treasurer, and Jayesh George (Kerala) joint secretary. They will assume office after the annual general body meeting of the BCCI scheduled to take place on October 23 in Mumbai.

“They may be young and inexperienced in BCCI matters, but these office bearers have the experience of administering cricket in their states,” said Niranjan Shah. His son Jaydev, a retired first-class cricketer, now heads the Saurashtra Cricket Association. “In the last three years, domestic cricket was being run by one or two individuals without consultation with a committee of state officials,” he added. “To run first-class cricket, state associations must be consulted.” The former office bearer seemed to be laying down the expectations from Ganguly and company.

Ganguly’s credentials are solid, having held the influential and high-profile post of CAB president. Jay is said to be “a quiet, low-profile person who has knowledge and understanding of the work that goes into running the sport”. While the two may indeed form a good team, both will have 10-month stints before they enter their mandatory cooling-off period. What will happen at the end of these 10 months is a slight concern. But, as of now, it is time to move forward with the pressing concerns. One of them is definitely finding a solution to the conflict of interest rule. The CoA in its final status report submitted to the Supreme Court has recommended modifications to this rule, which has kept the best of Indian cricket away in recent times. The modification has been recommended after wide talks with stakeholders and former players.

These elections have made it clear that Srinivasan, who commanded huge support within the BCCI, is losing ground. There are also attempts being made to get the old guard and those who are disqualified by the Supreme Court back into the BCCI via the formation of an advisory body. However, Ganguly has been an astute leader and is hugely popular among the public. And he is not one to bow to pressure easily.