Don’t know whether I will be allowed to leave BCCI at this stage: Sourav Ganguly

On 1 July, ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar officially stepped down after his four-year term in the office. BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, Interim Chairman of the ICC, Imran Khwaja and ECB Chairman Colin Graves are the three frontrunners for the incumbent position.

During the show ‘Inspiration’ on India Today, Sourav Ganguly talked about him being one of the frontrunners to become the next chairman of ICC. "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.” 

Dada explained a key aspect of the BCCI’s constitution that governs the rights entitled to each and every office-bearer. "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." 

The 48-year-old says that these jobs only come once in a lifetime, so he's not in a rush to take up the incumbent position at the ICC. "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.”

The BCCI President concluded by saying that being a sportsman, he knows a bit more about the sport than the other administrators. "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."