NEW DELHI: Former captain of the Indian cricket team Sourav Ganguly’s reign as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India is set to end for reasons that have nothing to do with cricket. The board will replace him with a former member of the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian team, Roger Binny, at its annual general meeting at Mumbai on October 18.
Sources said Ganguly’s refusal to enter politics by joining the BJP is the main reason for his axing. He had earlier refused to become the party’s face in the West Bengal Assembly elections in 2021. Ganguly’s appointment as BCCI chief in 2019 was seen as a political decision by the BJP. There was speculation that the Prince of Kolkata would be projected as the BJP’s candidate for chief ministership of West Bengal. He, however, refused to play ball.
Even after losing the 2021 state polls to Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, Union home minister Amit Shah made a highly-publicised visit to Ganguly’s Kolkata residence to have dinner with his family in May this year. Sources said that was Shah’s last attempt to convince Ganguly to enter politics. His fate as BCCI chief was sealed after he remained non-committal over supporting the party in the next general elections.
That Ganguly remains a potent political weapon in West Bengal was evident from the Trinamool’s quick and strong reaction to reports of his imminent removal. Trinamool spokesman Kunal Ghosh said the BJP was “trying to humiliate” dada after failing to induct him into the party. TMC Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen wondered why Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah got the second term but not Ganguly.
Sources said Ganguly was keen on another term but did not find many backers in the cricket board. He was offered the post of IPL chairmanship, which he refused. According to sources, he was hopeful of getting another term after the Supreme Court cleared re-election for the top BCCI officials by relaxing its previous order. They said dada is upset that he has been thrown under the bus after using him for the SC victory.
Interestingly,
Ganguly was made BCCI president before Bengal elections. Binny will get that position before Karnataka elections