Off-side god Sourav Ganguly not moving his feet

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly (Image: Reuters)

When Sourav Ganguly, the god of the off-side, became the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2019, there was hope that he would be a different sort of Board boss.

Having played the game at the elite level, it was expected that Ganguly would be more sensitive to the well-being of cricketers. No BCCI president has full operational freedom, given that he has to keep the political masters happy. But Ganguly, we thought, had the stature and gutsy personality to put himself out there a bit, step out of the crease occasionally, as he would to spinners during his playing days.

It is infuriating as well as numbing to see that this hasn’t happened. Dada’s feet do not appearing to be moving (though it is possible they occasionally are behind the scenes). Sourav Ganguly has the time to sign endorsements, even if it’s a conflict of interest. However, he has rarely shown the inclination to be transparent with players and the media. Indian cricket continues to be run like a secret operation. Barring the stirring victory in Australia last season, the team hasn’t won much. Now, the mishandling of the passing of the captaincy baton between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma has further eroded the sheen of the BCCI and Ganguly.

(File photo) Virat Kohli said in a press conference on December 15, 2021, that he was informed just an hour-and-a-half before a selection meeting that he wouldn’t be captain of India’s ODI team.

The events of December 15 prove that even a BCCI run by Ganguly, a dynamic former captain, and Jay Shah, the young son of a powerful politician, sometimes functions as an archaic, ruthless bureaucracy. On December 15, Kohli said in a press conference that he was informed just an hour and a half before a selection meeting that he wouldn’t be the captain of India’s ODI team.

"I was contacted one-and-a-half hours before the selection meeting on December 8 for the Test series," Kohli said. "There was no prior communication to me at all from when I announced the T20I captaincy decision until the eighth (of December), when I got a call before the selection meeting.

"The chief selector (Chetan Sharma) discussed with me the Test team to which we both agreed, and before ending the call I was told the five selectors have decided I will not be the ODI captain, to which I replied, 'okay, fine'. And in the selection call afterwards, we chatted about it briefly. That's what happened. There was no communication prior to that at all."

Kohli’s press conference also raised questions about the accuracy of Ganguly’s account of another recent event – Kohli stepping down as the T20 captain. As per a December 9 report, Ganguly told the PTI that the Board had asked Kohli to reconsider abdicating the T20 captaincy.

"We had requested Virat not to step down as T20 captain but he didn't want to continue as captain," Ganguly said. "So, the selectors felt that they cannot have two white-ball captains in two white-ball formats. That's too much of leadership."

On December 15, however, Kohli said the BCCI did not ask him to rethink his decision.

"I wasn't told to reconsider it. It was received well; I was told it's progressive and it's (a step) in the right direction,” Kohli said.

When Ganguly became the Board President, he told a news organisation that the ICC needs to start respecting the BCCI again.

"We will have to get BCCI at the International Cricket Council (ICC) back where we belong,” he had said. “There have been a lot of issues for a good four-five years. BCCI is so important to the ICC. It not only generates the funds; which is one part but the popularity of the game matters. India is unbelievable and has a huge role to play in ICC and we need to be respected which at the moment is not happening."

That respect, whether from the ICC or India’s own cricketers and fans, will not happen unless the BCCI changes its ways.