It all seemed hunky-dory for Indian cricket when Sourav Ganguly was appointed as the 39th BCCI President in October 2019. Many slated Ganguly for receiving the chairmanship at the International Cricket Council (ICC).
As it turned out, Ganguly had to undertake and oversee one of the most challenging situations with the onset of COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the transmission broke out in the country back in March, Ganguly has not been able to visit the BCCI head office in Mumbai for over four months, homebound at his residence in Kolkata.
Also, the importation decisions have to be made regarding the scheduling of various bilateral and multilateral competitions. Especially the 2020 season of IPL, where BCCI had to bear a loss of INR 4,000 crores in case of cancellation.
“This is unreal. For 4 months we haven’t been to the office in Mumbai. This is my 7th or 8th month as BCCI president out of which 4 months have been taken away by COVID. So we have been working on video conferencing but that’s what it is. I can’t change it. I have to accept it and try and do the best I can in this situation,” Ganguly said on India Today Inspiration while talking about his tenure as BCCI chief.
“I don’t know whether we will get an extension or not. If we don’t, we don’t, I move on to something else. At the moment, the last 8 months as BCCI president, 4 months I have been sitting at home,” he added.
However, a sense of optimism was visible in Dada’s statements, where he further claimed that he could see a light at the end of the tunnel.
“I can see light (at the end of the tunnel). All of us want to see light, because we want to get out this and see normal lives back where we can hug each other, shake hands with other without being scared, sit next to each other without being scared. Sports has started, football has started, tennis has started which is good because life can’t wait,” he said.
But, Ganguly indicated that these are scary times as the number of COVID-19 contractions has increased at an alarming rate, since the removal of lockdown.
“Having said that, the fear is a bit more than what more than what it was in March and April. The numbers are a bit more than what it was in March-April, especially in India,” Ganguly reckoned.
