It is hard to classify Sourav Ganguly. Captain par excellence, streamliner of disparate even disruptive streams of human behaviour to forge a cohesive team, and a man who himself has lived many lives, he is among the most enigmatic characters of Indian cricket.
His rise from being born into a sheltered life of luxury, right into the lap of intrigue and complexity that are second nature to cricket administrators and emerging as a genuine icon leading the Indian team with great distinction, is a compelling story in itself.
An unlikely hero if ever there was one, Ganguly defies definitions and labels. Did he have the genius to tap sporting potential and transform promise into performance, or was he the chosen one, who was lucky to have been at the right place at the right time?
Today, when he has become the top cricketing administrator of the country, these questions swirl in the mind. Artful dodger or a passionate, well-meaning, sincere individual, who has the ability and strength to shepherd the various power-hungry aspirants into doing something meaningful that changes the image of a dysfunctional cricket body?
Ganguly is not new to controversy. They go hand in hand. Right from his debut in a one-day game in 1992 in Australia to his first Test appearance at the Lord’s, he has created a stir, both positive and negative. His elevation to captaincy coincided with the most disturbing chapter of Indian cricket — match-fixing. Oh, not him, may have been a near-unanimous reaction to him being made captain, but he proved sceptics wrong. The aggression and self-belief we attribute to Virat Kohli has been his legacy to the Indian team. His knack of stumping his critics and even surprising his admirers, especially when faced with adversity to emerge unscathed, is the stuff of legends. His face-off with coach Greg Chappell, his humiliating ouster and the triumphant return show his unmatchable resilience when faced with almost insurmountable odds.
This is the man who was not in contention to become the second Indian player to lead the cricket board till last-minute drama — details of which no one knows — propelled him into this position. Welcome as this development was, it has left a feeling of disquiet as well. What compromises were made, especially given the fact that those in position to help him grab this coveted post are powerful politicians, who despite being disqualified, want to retain their hold on the BCCI.
Ganguly has subsequently denied that in his meeting with Amit Shah, India’s home minister whose son Jay Shah has become the secretary of the board, any discussion or any offer was made to him to join the BJP. Ganguly is an iconic figure across India and in Bengal he is bound to be a larger than life character. He has been close to all those in power in Bengal or one can say those in power want to be seen close to him, be it the Left or Mamata Banerjee now. It won’t be wrong to write that he became the president of Cricket Association of Bengal because of the support he got from Chief Minister Mamata after Jagmohan Dalmiya passed away in 2015.
Whatever little one knows of him from the days he was the Indian team’s most powerful voice, it is not in him to play second fiddle to anyone. He has found ways to negotiate treacherous pathways without getting harmed in the process. The cricketing community will hope that the player they respect and admire, will in the short period of 10 months he has to lead the board, finds ways and means to tread this difficult path without getting influenced by those who see cricket’s popularity as nothing more than a vehicle to achieve larger political goals.
Just like he did not let his proximity to the Left and the TMC now affect his cricketing decisions, it is hoped he will pursue his administrative agenda fearlessly and transparently. This is the least one expects from a cricketer of his stature.