BCCI
BCCI. Image-PTI.

On Tuesday, there were a few informal gatherings of State Representatives outside the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) headquarters in Mumbai, who were queried about Sourav Ganguly‘s near future. Someone proposed going back to Kolkata. “Back to Delhi,” another added, implying that he will return to the IPL’s Delhi Capitals team as a director. 

Clearly, Ganguly was the one who suffered the most on the day, having been abandoned by the BCCI members.

Most members of the leaving administration have found new jobs, with the exception of Ganguly and Jayesh George, the joint secretary, and insiders claim Ganguly did not try to disguise his anger. He spent much of his time in the BCCI office by himself, while others were involved in the nomination process. 

Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly (Image Credit: Twitter)

Sourav Ganguly Looked Upset, Disappointed And Dejected

He did not, as is customary, offer the name of the new president, Roger Binny.

“He clearly looked upset, disappointed and dejected,” said a member who was present at the BCCI office. Ganguly was the last person to leave the BCCI building after the nomination process concluded, quickly getting into his car and rolling up the window panes. 

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He was warned in informal discussions before the nomination day that his performance did not match expectations, yet the official justification is that no president has ever served two complete terms. The fact that he ambushes BCCI sponsors by promoting competing businesses is frequently debated among members.

Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly (PC-AFP)

It has also been raised in previous sessions. All of this has not gone well for him. N Srinivasan, who serves as a mentor to the present BCCI team, made a quick trip to Mumbai, leaving in the early hours after arriving late Monday night, and is considered to be one of the outgoing BCCI president’s harshest critics. 

Surprisingly, the Ganguly factor was the most intriguing one playing out among the members who admitted to Cricbuzz that it looked to them that Ganguly’s career was not done until it was over. Even at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, there remained still doubt about who would be president because Ganguly refused to give up. 

Sourav Ganguly Unlikely To Be BCCI’s Candidate For ICC Chair

That was similar to the case in 2019, when Ganguly was confirmed as president at the eleventh hour, beating out Brijesh Patel, who was considered the favourite for the job. After three years, the BCCI appears to have moved on, which means he is unlikely to be their candidate for the ICC Chair, which is up for election next month. 

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Jayesh, the outgoing joint secretary, was another victim of the day’s events. He was denied his post because two people from the same zone could not be accommodated among the officeholders.

Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly (Image Credit: Twitter)

With Binny from Karnataka becoming president, there was no room for the Kerala guy. Treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal was also unable to keep his job, although he was appointed IPL chairman instead. 

The day’s surprise package was new treasurer Ashish Shelar, who is a heavyweight in Mumbai and Maharashtra politics and appears to have instantly struck it up with secretary Jay Shah.