After an eventful 33-month tenure, during which he was witness to the “Good, the Bad and the Ugly” of Indian cricket, Committee of Administrators chief Vinod Rai is happy that someone of Sourav Ganguly’s stature is taking over the reins of Indian cricket.
Having cut off the “umbilical cord” that tied him to the Board, the former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) spoke to PTI on a range of issues from “giving a free hand” to the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri duo, Anil Kumble’s exit as national coach, his frosty relationship with colleague Diana Edulji, sexual harassment allegations against BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and difficulties in implementing the Supreme Court-mandated Lodha recommendations.
”I have great respect for Sourav…My respect for him grew even more watching him efficiently manage the Cricket Association of Bengal and the fact that cricketer of that capability and distinction will be running the BCCI. I don’t think there is anyone better than Sourav to take over the reins of BCCI” he said.
”It has been a very satisfying experience because there are four former players in major administration now. There is Sourav (Ganguly) as BCCI president, IPL chairman is Brijesh Patel, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy are in the Apex Council.
We have been able to create a Players’ Association, which wasn’t initially being accepted. We had women’s IPL, even though on a smaller scale but the matches were of high quality. We have been totally transparent. The minutes of 100-plus CoA meetings (status reports) are available on the board’s website. There has been no dilution of Lodha recommendations” he added.
