Deep Sense Of Fear As To Where Indian Cricket Administration Is Going: Sourav Ganguly
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In a scathing letter to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has torn into the Committee of Administrators (CoA) as he expressed his fear over the way the cricket is being administered in the country.
In January 2017, the Supreme Court had appointed a four-member panel CoA to look after the administration of the BCCI in order to implement Lodha committee reforms. The CoA was tasked with administering the BCCI until the fresh elections are called. But so far things have not panned out as expected. The BCCI officials and the CoA officials have rarely been on the same page on most occasions.
Worried by the current state of Indian cricket, Ganguly could not stop himself from writing a letter to the BCCI. The legendary cricketer spoke on the “appalling” way in which current Indian coach Ravi Shastri was appointed to the alleged harassment charges against board’s CEO Rahul Johri. He also criticised the changing of playing conditions in domestic cricket in the middle of the season.
Ganguly was a part of BCCI ‘s Cricket Advisory Committee that selected the last two head coaches. The panel had first selected Anil Kumble. However, after Kumble fell out with skipper Virat Kohli, the three-member panel had to look for other option which eventually led to the appointment of Shastri. The process of selection, however, was quite controversial.
First, the deadline for the application was extended, allowing Shastri to apply. After the interviews, Ganguly said in a press conference he wanted to give Kohli some time to think about his demand. However, the CoA and the BCCI announced Shastri’s appointment the same evening.
“My experience in the matter of coach selection was appalling,” Ganguly wrote. “The less said the better.”
He further spoke on the mid-season alteration of the playing conditions.
“Cricketing rules are changed in the middle of a season, which has never been heard of,” Ganguly wrote. “Decisions made in committees are turned around with complete disrespect.” There have been other cases of qualification criteria being changed mid-tournament in domestic cricket this year as well.
He the went on to criticise the way the alleged harassment case against Johri is being handled by the CoA. After an anonymous sexual harassment complaint against Johri, the CoA formed an independent committee. Reports suggest that the BCCI top-brass is also not happy with CoA for their handling of the issue. But so far, the Supreme Court-appointed committee has taken no concrete step.
“I don’t know how far it’s true, but the recent reports of harassment has really made the BCCI look very poorly,” Ganguly wrote. “More so the way it has been handled. The committee of CoA from four has come down to two and now the two seem to be divided.”
The batting legend concluded by expressing his ‘deep sense of fear’ over the state of Indian cricket, writing:
“I write this mail to you all with the deep sense of fear as to where Indian cricket administration is going,” he wrote. “Having played the game for a long period of time, where our lives were ruled by winning and losing, and the image of Indian cricket was of paramount importance to us. We wake up looking at how our cricket is faring even now.
“But with deep sense of worry, (I used the word worry) I beg to state that the way things have gone in the last couple of years, the authority of Indian cricket to the world and the love and belief of millions of fans is on the way down.
“Indian cricket with its massive following has been built over the years of hard work from superb administrators and greatest of cricketers who have managed to bring thousands of fans to the ground. I, at the present moment, think it’s in danger. Hope people are listening.”
Interestingly, Ganguly, the President of Cricket Association of Bengal, wrote the letter on a day after the CoA submitted its tenth status report to the Supreme Court. In its report, the CoA stated that the CAB is partially compliant to the Lodha reforms.
