Roger Binny, the former Indian cricketer, has now been officially appointed as the president of the Board of Cricket For Control In India (BCCI).
On October 7, The New Indian first revealed that Binny, who is one of the architects of India’s 1983 World Cup win, was tipped to be the next BCCI president. The 67-year-old Bengaluru resident played 27 Tests and 72 ODIs for India.
He is replacing Sourav Ganguly, who took over as the BCCI chief in October 2019 and was keen to continue in the post but his request was turned down.
It has also emerged that the Board is unlikely to back the former Indian skipper for the ICC Chairman’s post despite a melodramatic appeal from West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday.
According to reports, the 50-year-old southpaw was told that his performance as a BCCI president did not measure up to expectations. The members of the cricket board also stated that there is no precedent of a president holding two full terms.
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Some BCCI officials also hinted that they were not happy with the fact that Ganguly, as the BCCI president, endorsed brands which were rivals of their sponsors. This did not go down well with many people on the board, as their sponsors persistently raised this thorny issue during meetings.
According to the sources, the BCCI is likely to back the current ICC chairman, Greg Barclay, for a second term.
On Monday, CM Banerjee urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow Ganguly to contest elections for the post of ICC chairman.
“Sourav Ganguly is not only the pride of Bengal but also of the entire nation. He has led the cricket team and BCCI with the utmost dedication and responsibility. Our grievance is that Sourav Ganguly was let go by the BCCI. We want to know in whose order it was done. We believe that there’s been an injustice done to Ganguly,” she said.
“The only compensation for the move should be that he must be allowed to contest the International Cricket Council Chairman’s elections. This is my humble request to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Ganguly is a national treasure,” she had stated.
On the other hand, Binny’s elevation as the BCCI president doesn’t come as a surprise as he was elected unopposed. In his last stint, he was the president of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and was recently selected as the representative of the KSCA at the BCCI AGM.