Calling him a man of ‘unquestionable integrity and character’, Ravi Shastri said he is ‘extremely happy’ to see his 1983 World Cup-winning teammate, Roger Binny, emerging as the sole candidate to replace former India captain Sourav Ganguly as the cricket board president.
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Binny, the Karnataka Cricket Association president, is set to become the new chief “unopposed” next Tuesday, when the BCCI elections are scheduled to be held.
Speaking at the Mumbai Press Club on Wednesday, Shastri said: “I am extremely happy because it’s a World Cup winner who is the president for the first time in the history of the BCCI. His credentials are unquestionable, you look at his integrity, his character as a performer for India and he is a World Cup winner. He’s got all the boxes ticked to become the president of the BCCI.”
The former India coach said Binny will ensure ‘cricketers’ interest remains paramount’ even at the grassroots level.
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“Being a cricketer himself, he will ensure that the interest of cricketers is paramount, not the ‘A’ tier that will sustain itself, but the grassroot level. Primarily, domestic cricket. It has been given a lot of attention to, but can be given a lot more attention,” he said. “Then there’s women’s cricket that’s taking off across the globe. We are not far away from winning a (women’s) World Cup. That will trigger something special in this country. He will keep an eye on all that cricketing matters.”
The BCCI election is expected to be a formality since none of the office-bearers’ posts have more than one nomination on the first day of filing the papers. While Binny is set to become the president, Jay Shah is likely to continue as secretary while Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shellar is expected to become the treasurer.
