Reports: Sourav Ganguly set to be elected as BCCI president

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly is not new to taking up an administrative role. Following the conclusion of his glorious career, he dived straight into cricket administration and was elected as Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president twice. The legendary cricketer is now all set to take up a new and a bigger challenge in his short administrative career.

Ganguly is reportedly set to become the next president of the BCCI. The veteran is expected to file his nomination on October 14, the deadline for that stage of the BCCI electoral process. The current CAB president is also likely to be the lone candidate and will thus get elected unopposed. Other high profile name who is set to contest the election is Jay Shah, Gujarat Cricket Association joint-secretary until recently and son of India’s Home Minister Amit Shah.

Shah will contest for the post of the new BCCI secretary. Former India batsman Brijesh Patel, who has various positions at the Karnataka State Cricket Association and BCCI, is looking set to be the new IPL chairman. Arun Singh Dhumal, brother of former BCCI president Anurag Thakur, and Kerala Cricket Association secretary KC George will also contest the elections for the post of treasurer and joint-secretary’s position respectively.

Decisions taken at secret meeting:

According to ESPNCricinfo, the decision of appointing Sourav Ganguly and Shah as the BCCI president and secretary was taken at an unofficial meeting in Mumbai on Sunday. Some of the biggest names from Indian cricket attended the meeting. The attendees included former presidents N Srinivasan, Anurag Thakur, former secretary Niranjan Shah and former IPL chairman Amit Shukla.

The report further claimed that Srinivasan had arranged the meeting. The likes of Ganguly, Shah and others also attended the meeting. As per reports, it was Srinivasan who announced Ganguly and Patel’s name for the top positions in the BCCI and IPL. The others veteran administrators unanimously gave their oral approval to Srinivasan’s suggestions.

Meanwhile, if Ganguly and Shah go on to become the president and secretary respectively, they will serve for ten months. After the completion of that period, both of them will need to go into the mandatory cooling off period of three years. As per new BCCI constitution, an office bearer or an administrator has to serve the cooling off period.

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