Sourav Ganguly set to create a unique record as BCCI President

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly is set to become the BCCI President. This will be a big step up in the Indian cricket administration for him, as he is currently the President of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), in his second term. He is expected to become the head of BCCI unopposed given there is no other candidate apart from him.

Ganguly, who retired from cricket in 2008, played 113 Tests and 311 ODIs and was captain of the team from 2000-2005; is not new to administration and will keep the head post till July of 2020, after which he will go into a mandatory 3-year cooling-off period, as per Lodha committee reforms. The decision on Ganguly was taken at an unofficial meeting in Mumbai on Sunday, which saw names like N Srinivasan, Anurag Thakur, former secretary Niranjan Shah and former IPL chairman Amit Shukla attending.

Meanwhile, Ganguly will also achieve a rare feat, as he will become the second Indian Test captain to helm the highest post in the Indian cricket board. This means he will be repeating a rare double in the history of Indian cricket. The first Indian captain to become the BCCI Board President was Maharajkumar of Vizianagram or Vizzy. Also, Sunil Gavaskar had assumed the role in 2014 on an interim basis, but he was never appointed on a full-time basis.

Maharajkumar of Vizianagram- the first Indian Test captain to become BCCI President  

The Maharajkumar of Vizianagram, whose full name was Lt. Col. Sir Pusapati Vijay Ananda Gajapathi Raju was the son of the ruler of Vizianagram during British rule. Born in 1905, Vizzy’s wealth helped Indian cricket a lot during its infancy days. Therefore, he was named the captain of the Indian team that toured England in 1936 and played three Test matches on the tour, scoring 33 runs.

He was also knighted by King Edward VIII during that tour and remains the only active Test cricketer to be bestowed with a knighthood. After his cricket career was over, Vizzy became the BCCI President from 1954-1957 and received Padma Vibhushan in 1958.

Meanwhile, Ganguly may also be subjected to conflict of interest inquiry by BCCI Ethics officer DK Jain, given that he has an association with Delhi Capitals as their mentor. He is expected to resign from all such posts of conflict before filing his nomination on Monday, October 14, Monday.

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