Kolkata: Sourav Ganguly, who is set to become the BCCI president, expressed Tuesday his reservations over the ICC’s attempt to stage the 50-over World Cup every three years.
The World Cup has traditionally been a quadrennial event since its first edition in 1975. However, the 1992 edition was held after a five-year gap and the 1999 edition after a three-year gap.
“Sometimes less is more in life. So we have got to be careful with that. And the football World Cup happens every four years and you see the madness,” Sourav Ganguly told reporters at the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) office here.
Sourav Ganguly arrived to a rousing welcome here after filing his nomination papers Monday for the BCCI president’s post in Mumbai. He is expected to be elected unopposed in the BCCI elections on October 23.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is planning to propose a Futures Tours Programme (FTP) in which T20 World Cup will be played every year and the 50-over World Cup once every three years.
“That’s a decision the ICC has to make I’m not in a position to talk or comment on it. As in when I get an opportunity to be a part of the discussion, I will speak,” the former India captain told reporters.
The 47-year-old however said back to back T20 World Cup is the way forward with the rising popularity of the shortest format.
“When Champions Trophy first came in, I played the tournament in 1998. I’ve captained two Champions Trophies getting to finals in both and being the joint winners in one so at that time it was a huge tournament,” Ganguly stated.
“But with the advent of T20, people come to the ground more than any other tournament. So I think that’s the reason ICC has changed the duration of the T20 World Cup. The demands will change according to the situation and ICC will have to deal with it,” added Ganguly.
The atmosphere here Tuesday was quite similar to when Ganguly had returned after scoring a debut Test century at Lord’s.
“I must say that 1996 was 30 times bigger than this. And that will always be the most important day of my life when I first played a Test match for India. Nothing can beat that,” asserted Ganguly.
The BCCI president-designate was the first to admit that cricket administration in the country is going through an emergency situation.
“It’s actually an emergency as I have said before and I’m happy to get the responsibility to turn it around. That’s what matters, that’s my biggest responsibility,” Ganguly stated.
“India is the biggest powerhouse in cricket and should get due respect. Not only financially, but as a team we are probably the best team in the world at the moment. India needs a lot more than they have got,” asserted Ganguly.
He also said that the BCCI headquarters will remain in Mumbai. The question was asked as in the past various presidents had shifted the BCCI office to their respective cities.
“Obviously all the officers, president, secretaries will have their own offices to work and make sure the daily work goes on. The BCCI setup system is a lot more organised than state associations. So from that point of view, it’s going to be a mix and match of both,” Ganguly informed reporters.
“I’m here to do a job for everyone and make Indian cricket a lot more clean administration-wise, to get the backroom ready and smooth for everyone. I cannot contribute much on the field,” the former skipper stated.
Asked whether it’s once again a comeback for him like he did in the cricketing field after being snubbed by former India coach Greg Chappell, Ganguly said: “I’ve not got hurt much. If you see in the cricket history of cricket in India, only three players have played more than 300 ODIs and 100 Tests. Rahul Dravid, (Sachin) Tendulkar and luckily me. Maybe Kohli will play more than that.
“So if I see from that point of view I don’t think I can expect more than that. When you stay at the top things will not be rosy all the time. It’s in everybody’s life you go up and down and come back. That happened to me and I dealt with it.”
Ganguly said he is excited to see Bengal player Wriddhiman Saha making an impact once again with Team India in Tests but hoped to see an improvement in his batting.
Ganguly also said that he wants the Virat Kohli-led national team to reverse the trend of losing the knockout games in ICC events.
“India are a good team. I know they have not won a big tournament. But they play well in big tournaments except the semifinals and the final. Hopefully, Virat Kohli can change it around. He is a champion player,” Ganguly stated.
India have not won an ICC event since the 2013 Champions Trophy. The team finished runner-up in the 2017 Champions Trophy final after losing to Pakistan.
In the World Cup earlier this year, India were one of the favourites to win the title but ended up losing the semifinal to New Zealand. In the 2016 World T20 held at home, India failed to go beyond the semifinals.
Agencies
