Sourav Ganguly Vows to Prioritize First Class Cricketers as a BCCI President

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has been appointed as the new BCCI president. On Monday, he shared his excitement to do something good as he is taking over the reigns of the board at that time when its image is not too good. He pipped Brijesh Patel in a battle and he is expected to be the only presidential nominee now.

“Obviously, it’s a great feeling as I have played for the country and captained the country. And I am taking over at a time when BCCI has not been in greatest of position for the last three years. Its image has got hampered quite a lot. It’s a great opportunity for me to do something good,” said Ganguly to PTI.

However, the 47-year-old has planned to meet all the stakeholders in Indian cricket and wants to do something that Committee of Administrators (CoA) hadn’t done for 33 months. Even he shared his first priority in his short term would be to look after “first-class cricketers”

“We will speak to everyone first as we take a decision but my biggest priority will be to look after first class cricketers. I had requested that to the CoA for three years and they didn’t listen. That’s the first thing I will do, look after the financial health of our first-class cricketers,” added Ganguly.

Although he was a little unhappy as he has only nine months in hand.

“Whether unopposed or not, there has to be responsibility as it is the biggest organisation in world cricket. Financially, India is a cricketing powerhouse, so it will be a challenge,” he said. “Yes, that’s the rule and we will deal with it.”

For someone like Sourav Ganguly, who successfully led India many occassions was emotionally intrigued by the board room politics. He even talked about Jagmohan Dalmiya who has pulled off some amazing board room politics.

“I have never imagined so (that I will be in shoes of late Jagmohan Dalmiya). He has been like a father to me. There has been some great presidents of BCCI, Mr Srinivasan, Anurag, who have done great jobs,” he said.

However, Sourav Ganguly said captaincy is something which will always be his number 1 in the list. “Nothing can beat being an India captain,” Sourav Ganguly concluded.