Judge Jay Shah Independently, Not As Amit Shah’s Son: Sourav Ganguly
Ever since Jay Shah, son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, became the secretary of BCCI, there have been several eyes raised over his appointment. There have been murmurs of nepotism in the Indian cricket board as many questioned Jay Shah’s credentials. Jay Shah is not the only person with an influential political connection to take office at the BCCI.
Arun Dhumal, who is the new BCCI treasurer, is the younger brother of MoS Finance and former BCCI president Anurag Thakur. As far as the BCCI secretary is concerned, he became the joint secretary of the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) in September 2013. During his tenure as joint secretary, he oversaw GCA’s construction of the Sardar Patel Stadium, the world’s largest cricket stadium, in Ahmedabad along with his father Amit Shah who was GCA president at the time.
A couple of years later, he also became a member of the finance and marketing committees of the BCCI. He stepped down from the position of GCA joint secretary in September 2019 before being elected as BCCI secretary in the following month.
Ganguly on Jay Shah:
As Jay Shah continue to face questions regarding his credentials and being called a product of nepotism, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has leapt in his defence. The former India skipper urged others to judge Shah as an individual and not as the son of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“You know we have this huge thing in India that if you’re a son or a daughter of a very powerful person, you cannot remain involved. The other day if you see Sachin, he was actually telling the people that treat my son as a cricketer. Not as Sachin Tendulkar. Forget about his surname and see whether he is good or bad,” Ganguly told India Today.
He further went on to give examples from cricketers from across the world, who have had family members playing the sport as well.
“Why should Tendulkar’s son be stopped from playing because he is Tendulkar’s son. It doesn’t happen in Australia, doesn’t happen in England. Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh played in Australia. They were brothers and both went on to play 100 Tests. Tom Curran and Sam Curran are playing for England. I see this as an issue. Everybody has to be judged as individuals,” Ganguly said.
He further spoke on Jay Shah, saying:
“I want to say the same thing for Jay Shah. So what if he is Amit Shah’s son? He has won an election. He has been involved in the Gujarat cricket association for the last 6-7 years. He should be allowed to be on his own. His father is a politician. He is not. I think he should be judged independently.”
“It’s been just a month I have started working with him. He is adjustable, he is fantastic, he wants to work for the good of Indian cricket,” he added.
