Sourav Ganguly became BCCI President only due to our reforms: Justice RM Lodha

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, who was recently roped in as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President is working beyond the bounds of possibility to take the Indian cricket to the next level by changing the board’s fundamental principles, which was suggested by the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha committee.

Sourav Ganguly had earlier received plaudits for making an instant impact in his new role after organising India’s historic pink-ball affair at the home of cricket, Eden Gardens. In a shocking development, Sourav Ganguly’s recent move didn’t go down well with RM Lodha – who highlighted that it was only due to the reforms that Sourav Ganguly bagged the job at the highest level.

“It’s very unfortunate. I thought a cricketer at the helm of affairs will understand that it was only our reforms which brought him to this position,” Lodha told Hindustan Times in a recent interview.

It should be noted that the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) was controlling the cricket body for about 33 months before the new office-bearers, chaired by Sourav Ganguly, took charge last month as BCCI captain.

He had also discussed some important ideas in the board’s Annual General Meeting in Mumbai. One of the main topics of discussion was diluting the Lodha reforms. The Ganguly-led team had planned to put an end to the Supreme Court-mandated administrative reforms on contract cap of the board’s office-bearers.

Sourav Ganguly might continue as the BCCI president till 2024

If granted by the Supreme Court, the decision will see Sourav Ganguly as BCCI president till 2024 period. Going by the current rules, the former Indian skipper was supposed to remain the BCCI president only for a short stint of 9 months.

Justice Lodha further stressed on the fact adding that given the ‘politics’ in the Indian board, no cricketer would have managed to become a BCCI administrator without the help of the reforms proposed by his team.

“If the earlier system was in vogue, perhaps no cricketer could have ever dreamt of heading a body like the BCCI. The way the politics is played in cricket administration, I don’t think any cricketer would have been able to get this position but for these reforms,” he added in a statement.

According to the current set of rules and regulations in the constitution, which is granted by the Supreme Court, an office-bearer who has worked two three-year terms, either at the BCCI or at the state association, goes into a mandatory three-year cooling-off period.

Sourav Ganguly cannot hold multiple roles at BCCI

As per Lodha recommendations, Sourav Ganguly cannot hold multiple roles at BCCI. In the recent past, conflict of interest has been a huge problem for Indian cricket. Several former greats couldn’t contribute to Indian cricket owing to Conflict of Interest clause.

Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble were in a complex scenario where they let go of their dual roles for different other commitments. Ganguly had earlier revealed that he hasn’t been able to bring former greats on board due to conflict of interest. He further added saying that conflict of interest should only apply to administrators and not for cricketers.

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