Is a new feather about to be added to Sourav Gangopadhyay’s crown, who has just crossed his 50th birthday? Does an even bigger gift await him?
The majestic left-hander of Behala, the dream Test debut at Lord’s, the fairy-tale rise as India captain, the current president of the country’s cricket board. Will ‘Dada’ be seen as the head of the ICC now?
In the dynamic nature of the ongoing ICC General Meeting in Birmingham, such a possibility cannot be ruled out at all. Rather, if everything goes well, the advantage is Sourav’s. As the second cricket administrator from Bengal after Jagmohan Dalmiya, he has entered the race for the highest post. Taking Indian administrators, there have been three ICC chiefs so far. Jagmohan Dalmiya, Sharad Pawar and Shashank Manohar.
T20 World Cup final will be in Melbourne on November 13. There will be a new champion in the field. And outside the field, the name of the next chairman will be decided in the ICC summit meeting that day. Let’s remind, Melbourne is the centre of Sourav’s 100th test!
Details of ICC general assembly
The ICC General Assembly begins on Saturday in Birmingham, where Neeraj Chopra, with others, are landing for the Commonwealth Games a few days later. There is a lot on the agenda. For example, the bosses of the Indian board will court for an extended period of IPL. From 2024 to 2032, the international cricket schedule will be developed. Between 2023 and 2027, there will be a discussion on where the four women’s World Cups will be held.
Supporters of the former Indian captain
But the big attraction, who is going to be the next ICC chairman? Although the election will be held in Melbourne in November, the outline will be in Birmingham. Greg Barclay of New Zealand is now the ICC Chairman. His term is ending this year. The influential leaders of ICC want Sourav to come as chairman. He has a very good relationship with Graeme Smith of South Africa. England-Australia, who have always gone against India or the subcontinent, are not against Sourav either.
Even the thorny border, forgetting the bitterness of bilateral relations, the attitude of the Pakistan board is quite friendly towards Sourav. The Indian board chief has a good relationship with Ramiz Raja. Sourav personally called Ramiz during the last IPL. Even if he could not come, the former Pakistan captain did not forget to express his greetings in response to the warmth. Amidst the uproar over Babar Azam standing next to Virat Kohli, the friendship between the two board heads of the two countries has gone unnoticed. Who were also the captain of their country in cricket life.
Not only this, three new ICC directors from associate countries are also in favour of Sourav. The three newly elected directors are Singapore’s Imran Khwaja (a very experienced and old-timer at the ICC, who also contested the chairmanship last time), Neil Speight and Pankaj Khimji.