The 1983 World Cup winner Roger Binny is all set to take over as BCCI’s president on October 18th. Binny will take over the job, replacing former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who will no longer hold an official position on the board. His appointment is only a matter of time as he is the only one to have filed the nomination for the post of president and will be elected unopposed at the AGM on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Roger Binny’s former teammate and former Indian coach Ravi Shastri was delighted with the news of Binny taking over the job. Shastri feels that Binny ticks all the boxes to become a successful BCCI president and take Indian cricket forward. He said:
“I’m delighted, because he was my colleague in the World Cup. There’s continuity there because he was the president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association. So, he moves on to become the president of the BCCI. And I’m extremely happy because he’s a World Cup winner, who’s the president for the first time in the history of the BCCI. His credentials are unquestionable. He’s got all the boxes ticked to take up this post,”
Further, Shastri said that Binny’s first job as a BCCI President should be to make cricket more spectator-friendly in India. He said:
“Binny is a very amiable guy, he has got a mind of his own. He might not be a flippant type, but when he opens his mouth, I’m sure that he will be heard, especially on cricketing matters. One area that he would look into and Indian cricket must look into is the fact that you have to make Indian cricket a spectator-friendly sport, so for me, the most important thing is that the facilities at the ground should be upgraded big time. It should be insisted upon, with the kind of bucks coming into the sport, the kind of people who come into the ground, they’ve got to get the best facilities. If that happens, the popularity of the sport will soar even further”
Notably, Roger Binny has represented India in 27 Tests and 72 ODIs taking 47 and 77 wickets respectively, and has amassed 1500 runs during his career. His biggest contribution to the Indian side was with the ball during the 1983 World Cup in England where he picked up 18 wickets with his medium pace.
