Hyderabad: Outgoing Supreme-Court appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) chief Vinod Rai has welcomed former Indian captain and incumbent Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Sourav Ganguly as the new head of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Rai said that an experienced player handling the daily affairs of the world's biggest cricket body is an excellent development.
"If Sourav Ganguly becomes the President then it's very happy development. I mean former player and experienced person like him who handled the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), coming into cricket administration, is an excellent development," Rai said.
"I don't know about the past, I am just looking at the future. I have nothing to do with the past," he added.
When asked about former ICC chairman N Srinivasan and former IPL Chairman Rajeev Shukla who was there today when Ganguly filed his nomination, Rai said, "I don't see, you know I am in the US just now, the only thing I had responded is Ganguly's nomination and his election will be a very happy development."
"I will personally be very happy because he is not only a former cricketer but a very successful captain and an experienced cricket administrator. That is all I have to say, for other things I have no idea and don't want to talk about it," Rai said.
Ganguly, however, will be able to serve as BCCI President only until September 2020. He has been holding posts in the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) for the past five years where he currently serves as President. An administrator can only serve six years on the trot.
When asked about the priorities after winning the BCCI elections, Ganguly said: "For me, my biggest focus will be first-class cricket. I have been very vocal on looking after first-class players especially the amount of time they give to cricket because that's your base and strength. I have written many a time in the last three years that enumerations need to increase many folds so that is going to be my first priority."
The BCCI elections are scheduled to be held on October 23 but with Ganguly being the only candidate to file his nomination for the top post of Indian cricket, he is set to be elected unopposed. Today is the deadline to file nominations for five office bearer's posts up for grabs in the electoral process.
