West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee once again supported Sourav Ganguly, stating that the former captain of India ought to have been the president of the International Cricket Council by now and cautioning, in her signature manner, that “it’s not that easy to stop him.”
Speaking at the World Cup champion Richa Ghosh’s felicitation ceremony at Eden Gardens on Saturday, the Chief Minister praised Ganguly and the young cricketer before diving into a well-known topic that has long sparked debate.
“We always wanted Ganguly to remain India’s captain for a long time,” Mamata said.
“There’s one more thing I must say — Ganguly might feel bad if I say this, but I’m a little outspoken and always speak the unpleasant truth; I’ve never been able to change that.”
“Who was supposed to be the ICC president today? None other than Sourav Ganguly. He may not have become one now, but I strongly believe that one day he definitely will. It’s not that easy to stop him.”
After serving as BCCI secretary for four years, Jay Shah, the son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, became the youngest-ever ICC chairman in December 2024.
Shah was promoted to the international position two years after Ganguly’s three-year tenure as the head of Indian cricket’s governing body ended in October 2022 when Roger Binny took over as BCCI president.
From October 2019 to September 2022, Ganguly and Shah collaborated at the BCCI, where the former captain’s tenure was generally seen as stable but politically turbulent.
Both Ganguly and Shah have publicly maintained friendly connections, despite reports at the time suggesting that the government’s influence and power dynamics inside the Board may have contributed to Ganguly’s exit.
Interestingly, Mamata publicly endorsed Ganguly in October 2022, shortly after he was removed from the BCCI chair, pleading with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to permit the former India captain to run for the ICC position.
The leader of the Trinamool Congress at the time had publicly questioned why Ganguly had been denied a second term while “Amit Babu’s (Amit Shah’s) son has been retained in the BCCI.”
Following the match-fixing controversy in 2000, Ganguly—one of India’s most famous cricket captains—took command of the national team and ushered in a new age of competitiveness and self-belief.
He led India to 76 wins in 147 ODIs and 21 wins in 49 Tests.
Ganguly made a seamless move into cricket management following his retirement in 2008. He was elected president of the Cricket Association of Bengal in 2015, and on October 23, 2019, four years later, he became the president of the BCCI.
After stepping away from national administration, Ganguly made his return to the CAB presidency in September this year — a homecoming to his cricketing roots after six years.
