Over the past few weeks, there have been significant discussions surrounding the top post at the International Cricket Council (ICC). Shashank Manohar, who is currently the chairman of ICC, is expected to leave his role in July. Reputed names are popping up as favorites for Manohar’s succession – and one of them is the president of BCCI and former captain of the Indian cricket team, Sourav Ganguly.
Now, Sri Lank’s legendary former world cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga has pledged his support for Ganguly to be the next ICC chief.
“He has the deep knowledge of all aspects of the game and is always ready to go where nobody else dared to tread. Also, having served his state Cricket Association of Bengal first and now BCCI, he knows the mechanism of the administrative part as well. It makes him most obvious choice for the ICC Top post, as he can really take the game forward” Ranatunga exclusively told Cricket Age.
Last year, Ganguly became the first former Indian player to be installed as BCCI President in 65 years and Ranatunga is not surprised by former opener’s roller coaster journey, terming him as a good learner of the game.
“He always wants to learn and that makes him unique. I can still remember his first test series against Sri Lanka. That series was badly affected by rain. So, during the rain interruptions, he used to come to our dressing room and talk to me in length about the game. At that time itself I knew that one day he would change the Indian cricket. I even told my players also about this. Twenty years later, the same has happened” Ranatunga added.
Interestingly, Both Ranatunga and Ganguly were known for backing their players. Ranatunga will always be remembered for backing legendary off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan during that no ball controversy. The backing of Ranatunga was the greatest influence in Murli’s illustrious career. As captain, Sourav also backed youngsters like Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and ultimately both they emerged biggest match winners for Team India.
“He always fought for his players. He always fought for the betterment of the Indian cricket. I am confident, he will do the same as ICC president, if he gets the opportunity. After this Covid-19 crisis, majority of small cricket playing nations are struggling financially big time. So, world cricket needs an ICC chief like Sourav, who thinks about everyone” the legendary captain concluded.
Ranatunga is the third person from the player fraternity to talk up Ganguly for the role. Graeme Smith, former South Africa captain and Director of Cricket of the present team, on Thursday also made a strong call for Ganguly to be the next ICC chairman.
“Post COVID(19), to have strong leadership is going to be important. I feel that Sourav Ganguly is best positioned for that at the moment. He’s got the credibility, he’s got the leadership skills & he’s someone who can really take the game forward,” Graeme Smith had said
Few days back, David Gower, the former England captain, also backed Ganguly to come good in the role as ICC chairman.
“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 he (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. 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. 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 is a very, very good man and has those political skills. He has the right attitude and can keep things together and will do good job. And if you do a good job as BCCI chief in the future, who knows?” Gower recently said during a live chat show.
Cricket Age understands that the ICC Board is yet to finalize the nomination process after which eligible candidates can pitch their hat in the ring. To be eligible, candidates needs to be a current or past ICC Director (one who attends the ICC Board meetings as a representative of the respective country).
The former Indian captain is eligible to run for the post, as he had attended the ICC Board Meeting in March (which is a requirement for the role). He is also expected to attend another board meeting on May 28, which may clear the air on the future of the 2020 Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place in Australia.
While Shashank Manohar can run for another term, Cricket Age has already published that he is unlikely to do so. England and Wales Cricket Board’s chairman Colin Graves was among the front runner for the role in the initial stages but the emergence of Ganguly’s name for candidacy does change a few things.
For one, Sourav Ganguly’s tenure as the president of BCCI might end in July later this year, when his three-year cooling-off period begins. While the BCCI did approach the Supreme Court with a request to make amendments in the board’s constitution for the same, the Indian court is yet to conduct a formal hearing on the matter.
Secondly, Ganguly also seems to have the support of BCCI. While media reports suggest that Ganguly will be the ‘first choice’ among BCCI members to file for candidacy for ICC President, BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal also insisted that the former Indian skipper has the ‘credentials’ for the role.
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