Sourav Ganguly Praises Jay Shah's Growth & Intent During BCCI Days

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly worked with current ICC Chairman Jay Shah in the BCCI when he was the President and Shah, the Secretary. Both occupied the position in a critical period for Indian cricket, from October 2019 to September 2022. 

Reflecting on his relationship with Shah and his modus operandi at the BCCI, Ganguly said the son of India’s home minister came as a “young boy” but arrived with his own ideas and grew significantly in his tenure as an administrator. 

“He (Shah) had his own way of doing things but the best thing about him was he wanted to do things properly for Indian cricket,” Ganguly told PTI. 

“See, he had the power, the support, so you expected certain kind of toughness, stubbornness from him but he would do things for Indian cricket.

“Relationship was very good. It’s still very good. When he came in September 2019…he was a young boy, straight from Gujarat CA, very cooperative, approachable. Obviously, he had opinions and rightfully so, he wanted to do things and still does, he is the ICC chairman and it is a bigger post.”

Ganguly added that Shah was conscious of the baggage of his background but had the right intentions to do things the right way by being supportive of players. 

“He is very supportive of players. He got better as he learnt,” Ganguly remarked. 

“The good thing about him was he wanted to do good for the game. He is very honest, he always had the thought (about) who he was at the back of his mind, what baggage he carried. So, he wanted to do things rightfully and properly all the time. All of us made mistakes, I did, he did. It was never intentional but the game never stopped.”