Why Sourav Ganguly should replace BCCI top brass

While debates on whether current limited-overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's autobiographical movie actually deserves the tagline "the untold story" keeps critics busy - due to the lack of surprise elements in the otherwise decent script - former India skipper Sourav Ganguly is definitely scripting one landmark move after the other in his endeavour to end as one of the most astute administrators in the history of the BCCI.

So, even as the other BCCI members are sweating over the outcome of Friday's hearing at the Supreme Court in the BCCI versus the Cricket Association of Bihar case, news comes in that Ganguly could well be one of the members of the administrative panel that the Lodha committee wants the Supreme Court to appoint to replace the top office bearers of the Board.

If the Lodha committee has its way, then the likes of BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke could well be replaced by a panel of administrators who will works towards implementing the suggestions of the Lodha panel and restructure the constitution of the BCCI. And Ganguly's name is clearly on the top of that list.

There is something about Ganguly that helps him have his way even when the chips are down. Even as his associates find survival hard in this hour of reckoning, he is already being touted as the next BCCI chief. Be it during his time on the cricket field or now as a cricket administrator, Dada clearly knows how to stay on the correct side of the fence.

Interestingly, his journey from being the joint secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) to being elected the president has seen him fight no elections. If he was welcomed into CAB administration by long-time friend, philosopher and guide the late Jagmohan Dalmiya in 2012, it was Dalmiya's untimely death in 2015 that saw Ganguly elevated to the chief's post.

Not just within the CAB. When the Supreme Court appointed the Mudgal committee to look into the spot-fixing fiasco that rocked the 2013 edition of the cash-rich IPL, even then, he was the one hand-picked to assist the panel.

Then again, when the BCCI decided to appoint a new coach at the end of team director Ravi Shastri's contract, it is believed that it was Ganguly who hand-picked Anil Kumble for the post of chief coach, even though he had co-members like Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman in the cricket advisory committee.

And now, when the Supreme Court looks set to send BCCI's top brass into oblivion, it is once again Ganguly who is being touted as a favourite in the administration panel to be appointed by the Lodha committee.

What makes for a more interesting reading is the fact that barring the N Srinivasan era - when Ganguly was reported to have had tiffs with the Tamil Nadu strongman for criticising Team India's playing tactics under Dhoni - there has never been a time when someone in the Board has picked on him or caught him off-guard.

If his cover drives were silken, his administrative moves are surely one better.

Also read - BCCI vs Lodha panel: What this big match means for the future of Indian cricket