Former India skipper and current Board of Control for cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly finally spoke his heart out on his ouster from the top post as 1983 World Cup hero Roger Binny is likely to be his successor.
It was learnt that Ganguly was keen to continue as the BCCI chief, but things did not turn out that way, even as Jay Shah is set to continue as the secretary.
Ganguly first got into cricket administration as a secretary under Jagmohan Dalmiya at the Cricket Association of bengal (CAB), before heading the state body after the veteran's death in September 2015.
An official statement on the matter and his impending exit as the BCCI president is yet to come but Ganguly has confirmed that he will 'move on to something else'.
Ganguly said confirmed that he has been an administrator for a long time and is now looking to move on to something else.
"I have been an administrator and I will move on to something else," he said at the event. "Whatever you do in life the best days are when you played for India. I have been president of BCCI and I will go on to do bigger things. You can't be a player forever, you can't be an administrator forever. It's been great doing both," Ganguly said on the sidelines of an event related to Bandhan bank.
"I never believed in history but the feeling in the past was east lacked talent to play at that level. You don't become an Ambani or Narendra Modi in one day. You have to work for months and years to get there," he further said.
Ganguly also opened up on his experience leading the Indian team as captain.
"It was six captains leading the team. I stood up for Rahul when he was almost dropped from the one day side. I took their suggestions in picking the team. These things don't go unnoticed in a team environment," he said.
"It's not just the runs I scored. People remember other things. It's what you do as a leader for them," said the outgoing BCCI chief.
Roger Binny is all but set to replace Ganguly at the helm. He has already filed his nomination papers and is likely to be elected unopposed. While Ganguly is on his way out as the BCCI president, Jay Shah will continue to remain the board's secretary. A few other changes in the BCCI are also expected to be made as the top brass undergoes a reshuffle.
Ganguly also spoke about the high points of his tenure as BCCI president. "I think I thoroughly loved it. If you see the last three years, so many good things have happened. IPL during COVID, such difficult times for all of us in the country. We didn't know how to deal with it. The broadcast rights which went to an all time high.
Ganguly said the challenges as a cricketer were more than being an administrator.
"I did eight years' of administration. I was president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, then became president of the BCCI, all these have tenures and you have to go after finishing it. “But I feel the challenge as a cricketer was a lot more. When you do backroom work, sitting on tables and running the game, you have time to correct things,” he further added.
