West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has appealed to PM Narendra Modi that outgoing BCCI president Sourav Ganguly should not be deprived and be allowed to contest for the ICC chairman post. The Bengal Chief Minister said Sourav Ganguly had been "unfairly left out".
Ganguly, who is the BCCI president is expected to be replaced by Roger Binny, as his attempt to get a second consecutive term as the BCCI honcho didn’t succeed citing precedent and lack of backing from other members.
"He's been deprived. What is his fault? I am very sad. I am really shocked. Sourav is a very popular personality. He was the captain of the Indian team. He gave a lot to the country. He is not only the pride of Bengal but the pride of India. Why was he excluded in such an unfair way. My humble regards to the PM. Please take care that Sourav Ganguly must be allowed to contest the ICC election,'' Mamata Banerjee said, speaking to reporters at the Kolkata airport.
Nominations for ICC chairman have to be filed on October 20.
Though Sourav Ganguly is on his way out, Jay Shah - the son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah - will continue to remain the board's secretary.
"A court had cleared the way for a second term for Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah. But don't know why, Amit Shah's son stays. I have nothing against him, but why leave out Sourav? The way he was unfairly left out, the only compensation is ICC. Others have gone from BCCI to ICC. I request the government not to take it vindictively or politically. Take a decision for cricket, for sports," CM Banerjee said.
If he has to run for ICC president, the Indian cricket board has to recommend him. That will depend on the support he has in the BCCI. Meanwhile, it has been reported that Ganguly may contest for the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president’s post.
(NDTV inputs)
