Biggest moves by BCCI under Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah in their three-year reign

The Supreme Court of India provided a big relief to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) by approving the plea of extending the tenure of the current committee. The top court agreed to the cricket board's plea for an amendment to the BCCI constitution during a hearing on Wednesday. The BCCI had requested to make some modifications regarding the cooling-off period and tenure of the office bearers.

Following the order from the Supreme court, BCCI office-bearers can now have a maximum of 12 years in one tenure and at the state association before the BCCI cooling-off period starts. The decision meant Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah will have longer tenure. We take a look at some of the biggest decisions taken by Sourav Ganguly and  Jay Shah in their reign so far.

Best moments from Sourav Ganguly's tenure as BCCI president to date

1) Organising first ever day-night Test in India

With interest in Test cricket slowly declining, changes were brought to the longest format of the game with the introduction of the Day/Night test. Back in 2015 Australia and New Zealand played the first ever day-night test at Adelaide but India decided against playing with the pink ball. Following the appointment of Sourav Ganguly as BCCI president, India's played their first pink ball Test Match against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens back in November 2019. The crowd turned up in huge numbers to witness the historic occasion as India defeated Bangladesh by an innings and 46 runs.

2) Conducting two IPL tournaments during the COVID-19 pandemic

The 2020 edition of the IPL was all set to be played on March 29 that year. However, the entire nation went into lockdown following the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. While fans were dejected over the tournament not taking place that particular year, BCCI managed to successfully organise it in UAE later that year under strict bio bubble rules. The tournament turned out to be a success.  

The 2021 edition of IPL was conducted in India however it came under the scanner it was hit by coronavirus leading to foreign players pulling out of the tournament. Only 29 matches out of the 60 matches were played before it was indefinitely postponed. The tournament was moved to UAE once again and the action resumed on September 19 with 50% crowds allowed inside the stadiums. The BCCI once again was able to conduct the tournament successfully. 

3) Hike in salary of domestic players

The biggest decision that the BCCI took under Jay Shah and Sourav Ganguly's tenure was to increase the salary of the domestic players. The BCCI has started clearing the long-standing dues of the domestic cricketers who suffered financially after the 2020-21 season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The BCCI had said that the cricketers who participated in the 2019-20 season will be getting 50 per cent match fees as compensation for the 2020-21 season.

While making changes to the match payment structure BCCI decided that the players who made it to the XI earned Rs 35,000 per day while the reserve players got Rs 17,500 in senior tournaments. The per day fee for the top Ranji cricketers, who have played more than 40 matches, was also almost doubled to Rs 60,000, ensuring that they earn Rs 2.40 lakh per first-class match. Those who have played 21 to 40 matches will be paid Rs 50,000, while players with experience less than that will be given Rs 40,000 per day. The changes also benefited the junior player with the cricketers in the under-23 and under-19 categories getting Rs 25,000 and 20,000 per day respectively. The Under-16 players would get Rs 7000 per day instead of Rs 3,500 during earlier seasons.

4) Proposing four-nation Super Series

In 2019, Sourav Ganguly proposed the idea of conducting a four-nation ODI Super Series involving India, Australia, England and a rotational fourth team. The main intention was to generate interest amongst the fans with T20 overpowering the ODI format. The proposal received praise from the cricketing fraternity, with then Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts terming the suggestion as “innovative”.

5) Increasing pension of former cricketers 

Back in June the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), took the decision to increase the monthly pension of former cricketers (men and women) and match officials. The announcement was made by BCCI secretary Jay Shah through a tweet stating that around 75% of employees will receive a 100% increase in their pensions.