Ganguly takes charge as BCCI chief, says captain is most important man

MUMBAI: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly took over as president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday, beginning his term by praising profusely the national team’s accomplishments under Virat Kohli and promising full support and “respect”.

Ganguly, known fondly to fans as Dada (brother in Bangla), addressed the media along with his wife Dona and spoke glowrequire ingly about the team’s domination, Virat Kohli’s performances and the greatness of MS Dhoni over his career.

“When I was the captain and Jagmohan Dalmiya the president, I don’t remember a day when he said no to anything. Likewise, when N Srinivasan was the president and Dhoni was captain, you know how good the relation was. Virat is the captain now and his relation with me will be the same. Whatever he will for the betterment of Indian cricket, he will get. He is a very big player… see his game in the last four to five years, he has taken Indian cricket to a different level. We are with him and we will remain with him. We will give him everything for his team to be the best,” Ganguly said.

Under Kohli, there has been talk of a culture where the team has called the shots. Asked for his view on the captain and coach being all-powerful, Ganguly said performance would decide the future of Indian cricket.

He is a very big player… he has taken Indian cricket to a different level. We are with him...we will give him everything for his team to be the best

SOURAV GANGULY, BCCI chief