After SC relief, will BCCI break continuity in its order? | Cricket News

President Ganguly‘s ICC future in focus as board prepares for elections
NEW DELHI: The Indian cricket board (BCCI) may have got relief from the Supreme Court which allowed relaxation in the cooling-off period, but the current dispensation is faced with a key question: does it need any changes to its apex council?
While the court’s ruling makes president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah eligible to be re-elected, there’s talk whether the current bod y needs an overhaul. In the given scenario, a lot will depend on Ganguly.

There’s speculation that Ganguly could be BCCI’s nomination for the post of International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman. The world body will go to polls in November. As of now, the deadline to file nomination for the post of ICC chairman is October 10. The BCCI election is likely to take at least another 45 days since the constitution has to be reworked and approved.
According to sources, the power forces in the BCCI are discussing if it will be wise to break the team that was at the forefront of running cricket during the pandemic.
“Only the president and secretary were ineligible to continue in their roles as per the previous BCCI constitution. This duo became the face of the case in the Supreme Court during the entire duration and the entire board backed them. It has been a tough two years to run cricket and this dispensation has done well. The case was fought on the grounds of having continuity. So, there’s a discussion if the continuity should be broken,” a source told TOI on Saturday.
TOI understands that incumbent ICC chairman Greg Barclay will get BCCI’s support to get re-elected if no one from BCCI files nomination. BCCI also wouldn’t mind having someone from India going to the ICC.

Thus, Ganguly’s stand becomes crucial even as the lobbies get down to plan the composition of BCCI’s apex council. It’s not just the apex council. The board will also have to find a replacement for IPL chairman Brijesh Patel who will turn 70 this November and hence will not be eligible to continue.
A section in the BCCI would want the elevation of Jay Shah from secretary to president while another group is pushing for incumbent vice-president Rajeev Shukla. It is the equation between Shah, Ganguly and power forces that will dictate how the board moves.
“There are a lot of theories being floated around. But nothing is guaranteed till the nominations are filed. The power forces will take time and weigh all options before deciding on the contenders,” the source added.