Ahead of the much-awaited Supreme Court hearing on the plea to allow Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah as BCCI officials, IPL spot-fixing petitioner Aditya Verma has hailed the former captain as the best man to lead the Indian cricket board. (More Cricket News)
The apex court is set to hear on Wednesday a BCCI plea to modify its constitution and enable the duo of Ganguly and Shah to stay on as the president and secretary respectively instead of going on a mandatory cooling-off period.
Verma, who is also the secretary of the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB), on Tuesday said his lawyers "won't oppose" a cooling-off period waiver for Ganguly and Shah when the matter is heard in the Supreme Court.
"I have always maintained that Sourav Ganguly is the best man to lead BCCI. I believe Dada and Jay Shah should get a full term to again stabilise BCCI," Verma said.
Verma is the original petitioner in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal, which led to the apex court forming the Lodha panel, which recommended sweeping constitutional reforms in the world's richest cricket board.
Verma reasoned that the duo of Ganguly and Shah is needed for the Board's stability.
"Therefore on behalf of CAB, I will not have an objection if Dada is allowed to continue as BCCI president.
"Out of his nine months, four months have already been lost due to coronavirus and any administrator needs time to implement plans and policies," he said about Ganguly's stint as the board president.
According to the BCCI's new constitution, a cooling-off period of three years is mandatory after serving for six years as an office-bearer in either a state association or the Board.
Ganguly and Shah took charge of the BCCI last October, after getting elected unanimously. But both joined BCCI after serving long stints in their respective state bodies.
The former India captain earlier held positions in the Cricket Association of Bengal while Shah was a joint secretary in the Gujarat Cricket Association.
Ganguly has less than a week to go as BCCI president while Shah's term has already ended.
