Former Pakistan fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar has come forward and applauded the appointment of former Indian skipper, Saurav Ganguly as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Ganguly is set to become the first India cricketer after the Maharaja of Vizianagaram to become the president of BCCI.
On his YouTube channel, Shoaib said, “This is massive and welcome news. India is playing very smart. They are bringing their A-class people to the forefront. If there was one man who transformed the Indian captain, it was Saurav Ganguly. The minute he became the captain, many new faces came in and a powerful setup formed. He changed the mentality of Indian cricket.
Akhtar said that Ganguly’s style of leadership had a lot in common with Pakistan’s World Cup-winning skipper and current premier. Shoaib also recalled his old battles with Ganguly, again clarifying that Dada was never afraid of the pacer.
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Akhtar said, “Lots of people would think that just because I hit him several times he was scared of me, but this is a misunderstanding. He could not hook or pull me which was a drawback for him but this is wrong to say that he was afraid of me. If that was the case then he’d have never opened against me.”
The fierce pacer said with Ganguly in charge of the BCCI, he expects the international cricket to thrive, and it will also help in the revival of Test cricket in India.
Akhtar elaborated, “I want international cricket to thrive with Saurav at the BCCI’s helm. I want him to make his mark in international cricket. I expect to see Test cricket revived and I want to have some relaxations for fast bowlers.”
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Ganguly will take charge as BCCI President on October 23 as he was the only one to file the nomination for the post. However, he will be able to serve as BCCI president only up to September 2020. He has been holding a post in the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) for the past five years where he currently serves as President.
