Many eyebrows were raised when Graeme Smith advocated Sourav Ganguly to become the next ICC chairman. It seemed like it came out of nowhere, but those who know Indian cricket, understand nothing is a surprise when it comes to BCCI.
Current chairman Manohar has been a nemesis for BCCI. Abolishing the plan of big 3 was his idea and he stuck to it till the end. BCCI nominated him expecting he will represent India in ICC but to their disappointment, he became the ICC chairman in true sense. And that’s what caused the tension in the last few years between ICC and BCCI.
The current favorite even amidst all this drama is Colin Graves. ECB chairman is about to end his stint and is touted as the next ICC chairman already. His fate though lies in the hand of BCCI. The formula is simple, If BCCI votes for him, he will be the next ICC chairman.
But there is more to the story. For the last 3-4 year’s BCCI has been deprived of power that they enjoyed throughout the last decade. And they are looking to make amends. So in a dramatic event when Sourav Ganguly was named the BCCI president and the support he got from Srinivasan, one could clearly see what was happening.
The Srinivasan group was looking for a way into BCCI. He played smartly and helped Ganguly to lead the BCCI. But the man of his stature and experience, won’t do anything unless he gets something in return. His group got few positions in BCCI but the possibility of him running for ICC cannot be ruled out. So if N Srinivasan runs for the presidential election, Colin Graves might have to wait for another term.
Another possibility is Sourav Ganguly. Even though his tenure at BCCI will end in few months, BCCI will appeal in the supreme court to have Ganguly for the next few years. But if he decides to run for the ICC position, then his clean image combined with leadership qualities will make him an ideal candidate. Still the bigger question is, will he leave the president position of the most powerful board in the cricket to run for ICC.
One thing is for sure. BCCI is like a wounded tiger. When the BCCI was waging a war against the Lodha committee & Supreme court, everyone took advantage of that situation. Manohar, ICC, and the members as well.
So now when the BCCI house is in order, with cricket facing financial crises due to the pandemic, the richest cricket board in the world holds all the aces. The world cricket and ICC need BCCI rather than vice versa. And one can easily sense that the wounded tiger is looking for redemption. And the first step looks like the ICC chairman position.
