Sourav Ganguly's 4 biggest moves as BCCI President so far after 9-month tenure ends

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly garnered much admiration, both as a leader and as a player, while representing his national side during his playing days. Post his retirement in 2008, the cricketer took up commentary duties and became a cricket administrator later. Between 2015 and October 2019, he served as the President of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), a role which he had to quit after being elected as the President of the richest cricket board in the world, i.e. the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

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Best of Sourav Ganguly’s run as BCCI President so far

Sourav Ganguly’s presidential run at BCCI officially came to an end on Monday, July 27. As per certain amendments proposed by the Lodha reforms in 2015, any BCCI-related office-bearer, be it with a state association or board, should take a mandatory cooling-off period of three years after serving for six years. The BCCI filed a plea to the Supreme Court of India in December 2019 and proposed amendments to undo some Lodha reforms, with an intent to allow Sourav Ganguly to continue as President beyond his cut-off date of July 27. The ‘Prince of Kolkata’ might still make a comeback into the office as a final decision is expected to be made by the Supreme Court regarding the matter in August.

With Sourav Ganguly’s Presidential run coming to an abrupt end, at least for now, here is a look at some of his biggest achievements while helming the BCCI office.

Organising India’s first-ever Day/Night Test

Within a month of being appointed as BCCI President, Sourav Ganguly pulled all strings to organise India’s first-ever Day/Night Test in the country. The second of the two Tests between hosts India and Bangladesh in November 2019 was turned into a Pink-Ball affair at the iconic Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata. Interestingly, the prestigious cricket stadium chosen for the historic occasion is also Ganguly’s home ground.

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Increasing the pay of domestic players

In April this year, Sourav Ganguly announced an increment of salaries for Indian domestic cricketers to incorporate the flashiness of Indian Premier League (IPL) into the country’s domestic structure. The decision was reportedly made because the BCCI President wanted Indian domestic players to get a substantial pay without feeling any regrets after their retirements. Although the pandemic could affect domestic cricket largely this season, players could be paid as per Ganguly's words since the IPL 2020 is expected to happen and generate much-needed revenues for the board. Interestingly, no paycuts have yet been announced by the BCCI for any player in the country.

IPL 2020: Planning, delaying and re-planning

The much-awaited IPL 2020 season was originally intended to launch on March 29. However, the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI decided to postpone the profitable event as safeguard measures for cricketers and spectators amidst the ongoing coronavirus global pandemic. Under Ganguly’s regime, the IPL 2020 season is now back on track and it is currently on course to be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) between September 19 and November 8.

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Proposing four-nation Super Series

In December 2019, Sourav Ganguly proposed an idea of a four-nation ODI Super Series involving India, Australia, England and a rotational fourth team on an annual basis. While its intention was to generate interest among fans for ODI cricket in the age of T20 cricket, many believed it was Ganguly’s way of standing up to the International Cricket Council (ICC) by bringing back the ‘Big Three’ formula of BCCI, which was earlier rejected by the apex body. His proposal received praise across many quarters of the cricketing fraternity, with then Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts terming the suggestion as “innovative”.

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Image credit: PTI