KOLKATA: Sourav Ganguly seems to have reconciled with the inevitable. With five days of his tenure as the BCCI president still remaining, he is already referring to it in the past tense.
“I was the CAB president for five years. Then I was the Board president for three years,” he said at a promotional event, while reflecting on his days as an administrator.
“In these three years, so many good things have happened. We had IPL during the Covid pandemic, such difficult times for all of us. We won the U-19 World Cup. The broadcast rights went for an all-time high. And, I wish the senior women team had won the Commonwealth Games gold, they could have beaten Australia. These were great moments for me as an administrator,” he said.
The reference came after a philosophical Ganguly said “nothing is permanent”, whether it is being a player or an administrator. “I have been an administrator, now I will move on to something else.”
Although there are no indications on what comes next for him, the former skipper, who turned 50 this July, would surely have something lined up. And he did leave a hint that he is ready to pad up again for another innings. “Maybe I’ll go on to do bigger things in future,” he said.
Does he have something up his sleeves, or was it just another philosophical statement? With his knack for bouncing back, it won’t be a surprise if he already has a deal worked out. It is believed he was interested in taking up a role in the ICC after the BCCI stint, but reports indicate he doesn’t have the backing within the Board.
One might read a lot into an innocuous reference to the Prime Minister – “You don’t become a Sachin Tendulkar or an Ambani or Narendra Modi in one day” – but again, it could be too early to talk about link-ups.
Sourav’s brand value will remain intact
Could it be back to the commentary box? He did pick up the mike more than once to ask a few questions to the event’s promoter. And when the event managers put up a clip of him and Rahul Dravid exchanging banters in the commentary box with a familiar face in the backdrop and a line below reading: Binny 0-23, Sourav Ganguly was quick to clarify. “That Binny is not Roger Binny. That’s Stuart Binny.”
Even if he is out of cricket administration, Ganguly’s brand value will surely remain intact. In fact, he is one of the most visible faces on TV screen and hoardings, particularly in this part of the world. On Thursday, he became brand ambassador of Bandhan Bank, perhaps taking up such a role for the millionth time. He will find ways to keep himself busy.
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