Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has had a difficult that expected time as the BCCI President for the past 26 months, given the challenges posed for hosting matches – international, domestic, and IPL – in the covid-19 era.
He has, though, always had the support of BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, who he said is his “very dear friend” and a “trusted colleague”. Ganguly, Jay Shah, and the BCCI successfully conducted the IPL 2020 in the UAE. After hosting England for all formats, however, the IPL 2021, hosted in India, had to halt mid-way due to covid-19 in multiple franchises.
The tournament was completed a few months later in the UAE, the country which also then hosted the T20 World Cup. India are set for a home season now, but the matches will be played behind closed doors. The IPL 2022 brings the same challenges once again. But the partnership of Ganguly and Shah is ready to tackle the test head-on.
In a recent interview with PTI, the former India captain said that he has worked hard along with Jay Shah, joint secretary Jayesh George, and BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal during his tenure so far for the betterment of Indian cricket.
“I share a fantastic relationship with Jay. He is a very dear friend and a trusted colleague. Me, Jay, Arun (Dhumal) and Jayesh (George), we have all been working together to get the board going in these difficult times especially with COVID-19 in these two years. To make sure that cricket happens. I would say it has been a fantastic two years. We have all done it as a team,” Ganguly told PTI.
Ganguly has recently been accused of influencing the selection meetings with his power as the BCCI president. However, the left-hander has smashed those claims, saying that one photo doing the rounds on social media is not of a selection meeting.
“I don’t think I need to answer anybody anything (on this) and dignify any of these baseless accusations. I am the president of BCCI and I do the job of what the president of BCCI should be doing.
“Also just to let you know, I see a picture doing the rounds (of social media) showing me sitting in a selection committee meeting. I want to make it clear, that picture (where Ganguly can be seen sitting with secretary Jay Shah, then skipper Virat Kohli and joint secretary Jayesh George) wasn’t from a selection committee meeting,” the BCCI president clarified.
“Jayesh George isn’t a part of selection committee meetings. (I have played) 424 international matches for India. Not a bad idea at times to remind people about it, isn’t it? (laughs),” the 49-year-old added.
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