BCCI president Sourav Ganguly finally opened up on the possibility of becoming the next ICC chairman, replacing previous chief Shashank Manohar.
Ganguly, who has been talked up as a candidate for the major post by former cricketers of repute such as David Gower and Graeme Smith, however, is quite apprehensive going down that path, given the lack of constitutional leniency within the ICC.
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The cricket's world governing body doesn't allow a person to hold two positions, one within its office and the other with one of its member cricket board. The law is similar to the one now followed by the BCCI, whose adoption of Lodha reforms meant discontinuation of people doing multiple jobs in the system. But at least the Indian board allows a person to hold one post within its apex council and the other outside the system, say in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
In simple terms, Ganguly will have to weigh in is he ready to let go off his position at the helm of the BCCI if he is to become the next ICC chairman.
"I don’t know. At the end of the day, it depends on your board. It’s a decision which is jointly taken by the board. And the roles in ICC have changed. If you are an ICC independent chairman, you have to give up the position in your respective board. It’s not the same as before where you could hold both the positions. And it’s not a change from BCCI, it’s a change from ICC," said Ganguly in an interview for India Today.
"The current BCCI constitution allows you to hold a post. You are not allowed to hold 2 posts in the BCCI but you’re allowed to hold a post in the BCCI and in whatever, whether it’s the ACC or the ICC. But the ICC does not allow," he added.
The former India captain is unsure whether this would be the right time to leave his BCCI chief post, given the system is dealing with the crisis borne out of the Coronavirus pandemic.
"I don’t know whether it is right at this stage or whether I will be allowed at this stage to leave BCCI in the middle of all this. So don’t know. That’s where it stands. And I am in no hurry. I am young and you don’t do this forever. These are honorary jobs that you do once in a lifetime. If you look at all the great administrators, they have all had 1, 1 terms," said Ganguly, who took over as board president last October.
"So when it comes to sport, I will know it a bit more than the others because I have spent my life in sport. And that’s what it is. Where we go when you go to the ICC or the ACC, you represent your board. So the decision has to come from everyone," he concluded.
