Sourav Ganguly's appointment as BCCI president a win-win for Indian cricket: Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri's 'grudge match' with Sourav Ganguly seems to be over or at least looks like it as the Team India coach lavished praise on the newly appointed Board of Control for Cricket in India [BCCI] president.
Shastri had called out the then Cricket Advisory Committee [CAC] comprising of Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman for choosing Anil Kumble over him and since then, Ganguly and Shastri seem to be involved in a cold war until recently.
Both Ganguly and Shastri have softened their stances and the Team India coach gave the former India captain his heartiest congratulations for his appointment at the helm of the BCCI.
"My heartiest congratulations to Sourav for taking over as the BCCI president. His appointment is an indication that Indian cricket is moving in the right direction. He's always been a natural leader. When someone like him - who already dipped his feet into cricket administration four or five years ago - takes over as president of the BCCI, it's a win-win for Indian cricket.
"These are difficult times for the Board and there's a lot of work to do to bring BCCI back on the path of glory. I wish him all the best in his stint," Shastri told Cricbuzz.
The 57-year-old also indicated that India should get it deserves from the International Cricket Council [ICC].
"I've always believed you need to bring something to the table to take something away from the table and in that, we know what India's contribution is. Now, the question we should be asking ourselves is 'Is India getting a fair return for what it brings to the table?' I don't think so, and in that, I guess lies the answer. I'm pretty confident our administration is now in capable hands and they know what to do," Shastri said.
Earlier, Ganguly also spoke about BCCI getting its deserved share from the international board.
"ICC matter is important for everyone to know, India is supposed to get 372 million dollars from the ICC in the five-year cycle, which is a lot heavy at the back end. Because there are two World tournaments, there's the 2021 World Cup in Australia and then they come back for India for Champions Trophy, so a lot of ICC money is the back end money," Ganguly said during the press conference after he officially took over as the BCCI president.
"Till now we got whatever it is but we will make sure we get our dues," he added.
