XtraTime Web Desk: With his term coming to an end as BCCI chief in July (if Supreme Court does not allow him to continue for a full term of 3 years), the post of ICC Chairman can be very much on the radar of Sourav Ganguly. Under the current constitution of the board, Ganguly has to go for a mandatory cooling off period of three years once his nine month tenure as Board president ends in July. It must be noted that the apex court is yet to hear the petition filed by BCCI in November, requesting it to allow the current board president to serve for a full three year term. If the Supreme Court does not allow Ganguly to complete a full term then he will be eligible for the post of ICC Chariman. The current incumbent Shashank Manohar will be finishing his term in July.
As per eligibility criteria to contest for the post of ICC Chairman, a candidate needs to have attended an ICC board meeting. The current BCCI supremo has already fulfilled that criterion having attended an ICC board meeting in March via videoconference during the nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic. The International Cricket Council (ICC) will announce the timeline for filing nominations for the post of Chairman in its forthcoming board meeting on May 28.
What is believed to be going in Ganguly’s favour is the current status between the BCCI and other cricket boards like Cricket Australia, Sri Lanka Cricket and Cricket South Africa. Recently CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith commented that the world body needed a strong leadership and Sourav is best suited for that role.
According to Smith, “Post Covid-19 and with the things that are going to come our way, we need to have strong leadership and I feel Sourav Ganguly is best positioned for that at the moment. I know him well. I feel that he has got the credibility and the leadership skills and is someone who can really take the game forward.”
To help other cricketing nations come out of the crisis caused by the pandemic, BCCI is already working on a plan to schedule bilateral tours. It is no more a secret that cricket boards across the globe fill its coffers from broadcast rights when India is involved in a bilateral series. The Indian cricket team is scheduled to tour four countries over the next 12 months. It will play six limited-over matches in Sri Lanka, four Tests in Australia, three limited-over matches in Zimbabwe and three T20Is in South Africa.
It will be interesting meeting in Dubai next week when the board members discuss the course for the future. As of now, former England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Colin Graves is the frontrunner to replace Shashank Manohar as ICC Chairman.
ICC board constitutes 17 members—representatives of the 12 Test-playing nations, three associates, an independent female director and the outgoing chairman—all of whom can vote to elect the new chief.