Ganguly Officially Ends Term As BCCI President Today; Indian Board Could Be Headless Without Prez, VP, Secy

BCCI is already without a Vice President who resigned four months back and the cricket board's secretary Jay Shah's tenure too has ended. The Indian cricket board were rocked by the resignations of CEO Rahul Johri and GM cricket Saba Karim too..

Photo: AFP

As per the Lodha Committee reforms, former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly will mark an end to his term as the BCCI President today (July 27), thus officially making the Indian Cricket Board a headless body. BCCI is already without a Vice President who resigned four months back and the cricket board's secretary Jay Shah's tenure too has ended. The Indian cricket board were rocked by the resignations of CEO Rahul Johri and GM cricket Saba Karim too.. Ganguly took over as BCCI president in October last year and has to undergo a three-year break before he can return to the BCCI set up, as he has completed six years as an administrator including his role at Cricket Association of Bengal. The Supreme Court, last week, refused immediate intervention and listed the matter after two weeks on plea of Ganguly and Jay Shah seeking extension of their tenures to full three years. As per Lodha reforms, any office bearer can only stay at a state association or bcci for six straight years before going into a mandated three year cooling off period. Both Ganguly and Jay Shah had 10 and 9 months left respectively in their six year tenure. However, legal opinions are divided on the issue and say that both Ganguly and Jay Shah can continue their term till court hears or decides on them. Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing case petitioner Aditya Verma had said his lawyers "won't oppose" a cooling-off period waiver for BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary when the matter is heard in the Supreme Court. Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar and batting great has desired for a long tenure as BCCI president for Sourav Ganguly as he believes that the former Indian ODI opener is someone who has got the ability to revive the BCCI administration. Sunil Gavaskar has said that Sourav Ganguly was the reason behind Indian team's revival at the beginning of the century and his role was pivotal in lifting the team during a murky time, while also restoring the faith of the fans. Sunil Gavaskar in his regular coloum in Mid Day,  termed Sourav Ganguly's team including BCCI secretary Jay Shah as "capable" and added that he would love to see them in the office till the end of 2023 World Cup. "Personally, I would love to see Sourav and his team carry on till the end of the 2023 World Cup in India but let's see what the court decides. Just like Sourav lifted the Indian team after the early murky times and restored the faith of the Indian cricket lovers, so also he and his team look capable of doing that with the BCCI administration," Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his fortnightly column in Sunday mid-day.