What enforced Sourav Ganguly’s exit as BCCI President?

Politics, lack of performance, too many brand endorsements or bad relations with colleagues: what caused Sourav Ganguly’s ‘enforced’ exit as BCCI President?

Well, there are more assumptions than facts that could decide what exactly is the reason that the former Indian skipper was bid farewell in a not-so-polite way.

Although Ganguly compared his exit with how a cricketer’s life works, one could feel the disappointment in his voice.

“You can’t play forever. You can’t be an administrator forever, but it’s been fun doing both and seeing both sides of the coin. I will go for bigger things in future,” Ganguly said on the sidelines of a promotional event on Thursday.

“I was a cricketer’s administrator. Yes, you had to make decisions because there’s so much cricket happening, there’s so much money around. There’s women’s cricket, there’s domestic cricket. Yes, you had to take calls at times as an individual,” he added.

Lack of support

Ganguly further strengthened the deliberations that he wanted to continue as president but didn’t get the support from other members of the board and state units.

“For me, life is about faith. Everybody gets tested, everybody gets rewarded, everybody gets rejected. Because that’s the circle of life, but what remains constant is the faith in your ability which keeps you going,” he said.

Mixed bag

Ganguly’s tenure as board head was a blend of both success and failure. He managed to hold two Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons amid the deadly Covid-19. Domestic cricketers’ remuneration was also increased during his time but he also faced a lot of criticism for creating confusion with lack of communication, endorsing rival brands and paying less attention to women’s cricket.

His exit though is mostly being seen as a political move. Many people are alleging that Ganguly denied joining the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), costing him his place in the BCCI. There were several rumours in the past that the former Indian cricket would join BJP to contest elections from his home state, Bengal.

Political vendetta?

“Another example of political vendetta. Son of @AmitShah can be retained as Secretary of #BCCI. But @SGanguly99 can’t be. Is it because he is from the State of @MamataOfficial or he didn’t join @BJP4India? We are with you Dada!” TMC MP Santanu Sen tweeted.

“There is information that Ganguly was approached repeatedly to join BJP. Probably as he has not consented to join BJP and is from Bengal, he has become prey to political vendetta. Amit Shah’s son was retained as BCCI secretary, but not Ganguly,” he alleged.

People also pointed fingers at Sourav for promoting fantasy apps and other brands on TV, saying he was violating his position and inviting questions on “conflict of interest”.

Ganguly’s relationship with other board members, especially Secretary Jay Shah, who is the son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, wasn’t reportedly good, at least during the last phase. The two had varied opinions on several issues, giving rise to division in the board.

Now the question remains: what caused Sourav Ganguly’s ‘enforced’ exit as BCCI President? Politics, lack of performance, too many brand endorsements or bad relations with colleagues?

It is safe to say: ALL OF IT!