Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Sunil Gavaskar has urged former national side captain Sourav Ganguly to take up the top post in Indian cricket governing body – Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
“BCCI has got a very good bench strength to take up the bigger roles and one name that comes to my mind is Sourav Ganguly,” said Gavaskar to reporters when asked who should join the board on an interim basis.
Gavaskar was briefing media persons on Tuesday after the Supreme Court sacked board president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke on Monday.
On recommendations of an apex body-led Justice R M Lodha Committee, the court verdict came after a long-standing tussle and several court battles which saw a paradigm shift.
Gavaskar has also stated that the former left-handed batsman will be the best in business to handle every difficult situation.
“Remember, in 1999-2000 when Indian cricket was gripped by the match-fixing saga, Ganguly was given the Indian team captaincy and he turned it around,” he told NDTV.
While coming down heavily on the country’s cricket body, the-67-year-old Gavaskar has criticised the functionaries after failing to implement the recommendations of the Lodha committee.
“Once the Supreme Court gives the order, that has to be accepted. The BCCI has lost face internationally after this entire saga. We are in for a completely new era for Indian cricket,” exasperated looking Gavaskar said.
For India, 44-year-old Ganguly has appeared in 113 Test and 311 One-day International matches which included 16 hundred and 22 tons respectively for India.
The Kolkata-born has scored 7212 runs in Tests and 11,363 in ODIs in his 15-year cricket career.