Sourav, Are You Still A Bengal’s Icon?
Amit Goswami
There is no doubt that Sourav Ganguly was once the icon of Bengalis. Slogans such as “Sourav, Banglar Gourav” (Sourav, the Pride of Bengal) echoed everywhere. It is now history how Greg Chappell faced perhaps the biggest question mark of his cricketing career after sidelining Sourav. At that time, Bengal witnessed a tsunami of emotions in support of him. Thanks to Jagmohan Dalmiya, Sourav became not just the captain of the Indian cricket team, but a dominant figure — the people’s captain of Bengal.
In 2019, Sourav moved from being the President of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) to becoming the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). On October 23, 2019, he was formally announced as the President at the BCCI Annual General Meeting. He was elected unopposed as the 39th President of the Indian cricket board. Initially, Brijesh Patel’s name had been considered, but for reasons unknown, Sourav reportedly replaced him after Jay Shah, son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, was chosen as the new BCCI Secretary. Critics alleged that Sourav’s rise was made possible due to Amit Shah’s influence, though Sourav denied such allegations.
However, as the political atmosphere heated up before the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, many across Bengal expected Sourav to join the BJP and emerge as the principal anti-Mamata face. But on January 2, 2021, Sourav Ganguly was admitted to hospital with chest pain. It was stated that he experienced discomfort while exercising at his home gym. After medical examinations, a stent was implanted. Consequently, speculation regarding his joining the BJP faded away. The BJP’s central leadership also quickly lost interest in the issue.
In 2022, following the recommendations of the Lodha Committee, Sourav stepped down as BCCI President. His desire to become ICC President also failed to materialize. Gradually, his importance in Indian cricket administration began to decline. Though he was never directly involved in active politics, in September 2023 he accompanied West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on a visit to Spain. From there, he announced investment plans in Bengal, including a steel plant project in Salboni on land already allotted earlier. Responding to criticism from anti-Trinamool camps, Sourav said, “I will go wherever I feel is right.” However, that steel plant project has still not materialized.
On September 22, 2025, after a gap of six years, Sourav was once again elected unopposed as President of the Cricket Association of Bengal during CAB’s 94th Annual General Meeting. Earlier, he had served as CAB President from 2015 to 2019. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reportedly wanted Sourav to become President again, and therefore he did not face any contest.
Controversy has resurfaced once again through an exchange of statements between Sourav Ganguly and Shatadru Dutta. In an interview yesterday regarding the “Messi incident” in Kolkata, Sourav commented:
“This would never have happened at Eden Gardens. So many major matches have taken place there — World Cup finals, IPL semifinals, World Cup semifinals — and nothing ever went wrong. I had suggested to him (Shatadru) that it should be held at Eden, but it did not happen. That was his decision. He was the organizer, it was his event. He took it to Yuva Bharati Stadium. I don’t know why it wasn’t held at Eden. Messi coming to Kolkata and I, as CAB President, not being able to provide Eden — how is that possible? I am football-crazy. I can even travel to Barcelona just to watch Messi. But Shatadru himself chose Yuva Bharati. He did not inform us, though he was not obliged to, because it was entirely his property and his event. He alone had the right to decide where it would be held.”
Today, Shatadru responded:
“Dada (Sourav) perhaps forgot that I first approached CAB itself. But because elections were going on at that time, CAB could not give me permission. I waited for 25 days. Messi’s events were scheduled all over India, so there was no more time to wait. Unless the entire schedule and venues were finalized, Messi would not sign the agreement. We could not even announce the ‘GOAT Tour.’ Therefore, after waiting 25 days, I changed the decision. Dada and Sanjay Das (CAB Treasurer) were informed earlier. Dada perhaps forgot.”
According to the writer, the main person responsible for the Messi controversy was then Sports Minister Aroop Biswas, whose alleged interference, pressure on the police to allow excessive crowd entry into the ground, and mishandling of the arrangements led to the collapse of the event. Furthermore, the previous government had allegedly subjected Shatadru to 38 days in custody and jail. Shatadru has continued to present one piece of information after another before the media and has also approached the court.
However, the central issue now is that the new Sports Minister, Nisith Pramanik, has ordered an investigation into the Messi controversy. During that investigation, questions are bound to arise as to why Eden Gardens was not selected as the venue. In that context, the writer claims Sourav’s recent remarks appear to be a preemptive defense. But Shatadru, too, is portrayed as a formidable opponent with many arrows left in his quiver. The battle, it seems, is only intensifying.
The article concludes by asserting that the present generation is not unaware of Sourav Ganguly’s allegedly “slippery” conduct over the years, and therefore, according to the author, he can no longer be considered an icon of Bengalis.
*** Published under freedom of expression IBG NEWS Neither agree nor disagree with the views expressed by the author. The article is an approximate translation from the original ***
