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So many good things happened in last three years: Sourav Ganguly defends his BCCI tenure

by Trans World Features | @twfindia 13 Oct 2022, 10:19 am

Kolkata: Amid a political firestorm and controversies over his unceremonious exit as the Indian cricket board president, Sourav Ganguly said all terms come to an end and his tenure was marked by many good things, including the difficult job of staging the IPL during the pandemic when the broadcast rights of the cricket league were also an all-time high.

"Yes we had to make decisions (as BCCI administrator) as so much was happening, so much money (was) around, there was women's cricket, domestic cricket, we had to take calls at times. But I thoroughly loved and so many good things had happened," he said at a Bandhan Bank event in a Kolkata hotel.

He said holding the Indian Premier League (IPL) was tough amid the pandemic when they were faced with a big challenge and were clueless about how to deal with it.

"It was such a difficult time for all of us. We did not know how to deal with it. The broadcast rights went to an all-time high and IPL established the brand all around the world," he said, adding that he had great moments as BCCI president and learned a lot amid challenges.

"You can't play forever and you can't be an administrator forever."

"I was CAB president for five years and BCCI president for three years. All these have tenures and terms, after which you have to leave and go.

He said playing cricket is much more challenging than being an administrator since in the latter you can correct things while as a cricketer if one faces "a delivery from Glenn Donald McGrath in the first morning of the Test and you are out, you cannot be correct it."

"That is a major difference," he said.

He said as an administrator one can contribute so much and was satisfied contributing his bit.

Unceremonious Exit Amid Controversies

Controversy erupted earlier in India's cricket administration after the news broke that former skipper Sourav Ganguly will be replaced by 1983 World Cup-winning team member Roger Binny as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president.

Some reports claimed Ganguly was offered the chairman's position in the hugely popular, cash-rich domestic T20 tournament, Indian Premier League (IPL) but he "politely declined" the offer.

The cricket great, who shaped Team India as a captain, wanted to continue as the BCCI president, reports said.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah, the second most important person on the board, is likely to remain in his post.

Reports said former BCCI president and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) owner N Srinivasan was one among those who slammed Sourav Ganguly as a board president accusing him of "nonperformance" and alleging that he had represented brands that were the direct rivals of sponsors of BCCI.

Sourav Ganguly's decisions on former skipper Virat Kohli (his stepping down as T20 captain and each other's contradictory remarks on the issue) also earned him the wrath of many in cricketing circles and among Kohli fans.

Binny may get elected to the top post unopposed. He filed his nomination papers Tuesday.

The change of guard in the cricket administration triggered political overtones with the country's ruling party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) getting accused of using its influence to dump Ganguly as he did not join the saffron camp.

The BJP has denied having any influence in the BCCI.

(Reporting by Supriyo Hazra)