It will be a tough road but if anyone can replace Dalmiya, it's Ganguly

On Thursday, Sourav Ganguly began his new innings as he was appointed president of the Cricket Association of Bengal following the death of Jagmohan Dalmiya. Yes, there was happiness among the cricketing fraternity, especially in Bengal, with Ganguly being their favourite son. But his appointment also raised an important question: Can he be as successful an administrator as a cricketer?

Cricket administration is a difficult job. It’s a high pressure job. It involves a lot of organising skills, dealing with government agencies, and handling a lot of political opposition, pressure and backlash.

Jagmohan Dalmiya mastered that art and the question now arises whether Ganguly can carry forward the legacy.

Former India cricketer Javagal Srinath who himself was an administrator in the past had fired in a sound warning before Ganguly took over, saying he shouldn’t rush into the administrator’s role at such a young age. " It’s going to be tough," Srinath told NDTV .

“Everything is a conflict of interest. It becomes difficult for you to function. It is 24x7. When we take up this admin job, there is no looking back, it’s like a profession from morning to evening. This can be frustrating at times because criticism is constant. Perspectives of various people coming for various reasons. It’s about managing perceptions, it can be frustrating at times,” he added

Srinath was elected as the secretary of Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) in 2010 while Anil Kumble was elected as the president. The duo brought about a lot a good changes in its three-year tenure, introducing technology in the organisational structures, building new grounds, upgrading old ones and spreading the game to cities and towns outside Bangalore. It was a challenging role, but Kumble and his administration were successful in the three-year tenure.

“When you walk into administration, it becomes a totally different perspective. You are dealing with people who possibly don’t have the same drive that you have. You come in and suddenly say that this should happen tomorrow, this should happen now, this is the road map and I want you to achieve this. The challenge is: How do you align all those individuals who have been working in some sort of a format or environment that has been used over the years? It’s not easy,” Kumble had told ESPNCricinfo .

The road wasn’t smooth. There were allegations of conflict of interest against him being an administrator of KSCA and also head of a company Tenvic whose job was to mentor cricketers. Kumble and Srinath once staged a walkout from the Annual General Body meeting of the KSCA, alleging misuse of funds by the association. But in spite of the hindrances, they brought about changes.

Kumble was a fighter, he was a visionary too. Ganguly is in the same mould. He is an aggressive personality. He is fearless and likes to take the opposition on. During his playing days, he was a fighter. He took over India’s captaincy when India was going through one of the most difficult phases — in 2000 — recuperating from the match-fixing crisis that had hit the country hard. He brought about a change of approach and changed the face of Indian cricket. He became India’s most successful captains in Tests before MS Dhoni broke his record of 21 wins. He had the leadership skills to bring the best out of his players and he was also a tough nut to crack — an in-your-face character.

Ganguly certainly has the qualities that an administrator requires. Yes, there are many challenges. He will have to multitask. He’s been a member of BCCI’s cricket advisory committee and co-owner of Indian Super League franchise Atletico de Kolkata. He also does commentary stints with TV channels. But the Prince of Kolkata isn’t new to the administration job. He’s previously held the posts of chairman of Bengal’s cricket coaching committee and chief of Bengal’s cricket development committee. He had been holding the post of CAB joint-secretary since July last year before being chosen for the President’s post unopposed.

Not many cricketers have gone on to become successful administrators — South African Dave Richardson is among the few exceptions. It’s a long road but Ganguly has those qualities to succeed. He has taken up this challenge all by himself. “I am sure I will give 100 percent, the main focus will be on cricket, it will be cricket for Bengal and cricket for India,” Ganguly told India Today .

Ganguly had once said that playing cricket was tougher than administration. He ended up as one of the legends of the game. His ability to get the best out of his teammates — See: Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh and many others — will hold him in good stead in his new post.

It will be difficult to fill in the shoes of Dalmiya but if there is one person who can come close, it’s Sourav Ganguly.