Listing the only 4 Indian players who became BCCI president

At 47, Sourav Ganguly will start his office as the new BCCI president from October 23. Ganguly has expressed his desire to focus more on first-class cricketers along with other important matters.

Sourav Ganguly became only the second cricketer in Indian history to complete a rare double of playing for India and becoming the President of BCCI. However, two more cricketers achieved this feat but were appointed for the post of president for an interim term only.

Here's the list of Indian cricketers who went on to become BCCI president.

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#1 Maharajkumar of Vizianagram

Vijay Ananda Gajapathi Raju

Vijay Ananda Gajapathi Raju a.k.a ‘Vizzy’ as he was better known, served as the BCCI president from 1954 to 1956.

Considered to be one of the worst captains to have led India ever, Vizzy dictated the cricketing arena due to his immense wealth. In 1932, he was the chief financier that helped India tour England and declared himself as the vice-captain. Although he withdrew on health grounds, he returned as the captain of the second side to undertake a Test tour of England. In the three Test matches, he scored only 33 runs at a disastrous average of 8.25. He played 47 first-class games, scoring 1228 runs at 18.60 with five fifties.

Such was his influence of wealth that he captained the likes of Lala Amarnath, C.K. Nayudu, Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Merchant. He once asked Mushtaq Ali to run-out Vijay Merchant during the second Test match at Manchester – both Ali and Merchant ended up having a record 203-run opening stand – and even gave Baqa Jilani a Test cap, only because he had insulted Nayudu at breakfast. He would gift the opposition bowlers gold watches, etc. if they agreed to bowl full-tosses and simple deliveries at him.

However, during his tenure as BCCI president, he brought back Lala Amarnath into the India team as captain, got C.K. Nayudu to play for Uttar Pradesh at the age of 61. He even played a huge role in getting Kanpur’s Green Park a Test status. He remains the only cricketer to be knighted during his playing career, on India's tour of England in 1936.

Also see – World Test Championship points table

#2 Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar

Former India captain and opener Sunil Gavaskar was appointed as the interim BCCI president for IPL matters in 2014. The Supreme Court of India had put him in charge owing to the IPL 2013 corruption charges against N Srinivasan.

Sunil Gavaskar made his debut against West Indies at Port of Spain in 1971. He played 125 Tests for India an average of 51.12, scoring a record number of centuries then with 34. However, he didn’t enjoy an equally successful ODI career where he played only 108 matches, scoring just one century in the process. He was also part of the 1983 World Cup-winning squad.

Gavaskar is considered by many as the best opener to have played for India in Test match cricket. He had the gift of balance and quick feet which enabled him to play all the shots in the book. He was the first cricketer to scale the 10000-run barrier in Test cricket. However, Gavaskar’s biggest personal achievement comes in the form of his innings of 236 against the West Indies. When bowlers like Malcolm Marshall, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, and Joel Garner were wrecking havoc on batsmen from all over the globe, a 5 ft 5 Mumbaikar thrashed them mercilessly, wearing a helmet that didn’t come with front protection attached with it.

Sunil Gavaskar played his last Test against Pakistan in 1987 at Bengaluru's M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.

#3 Shivlal Yadav

Shivlal Yadav during his playing days

In 2014, former India player Shivlal Yadav was appointed, by the Supreme Court of India, as the interim BCCI president for all administrative issues not relating to the IPL.

Apart from his playing days, Shivlal is known for his decision to sack Mohammad Azharuddin as an Indian captain, during his days serving as a national selector. He was the secretary of the Hyderabad Cricket Association from 2000 to 2009 and also served as the BCCI vice-president in 2013.

His interim term as BCCI president didn’t start on a good note as he had to attend a court hearing in Hyderabad along with 20 other Hyderabad Cricket Association officials, who were alleged of misappropriation of funds while building of a new cricket stadium in Hyderabad.

Shivlal Yadav played 35 Tests for India, claiming 102 wickets that included three five-wicket hauls. He also represented India in seven ODIs where he took seven wickets. He made his Test debut against Australia at Bengaluru in September of 1979.

During the time, the famous Indian spin quartet of Erapalli Prasanna, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Bishan Singh Bedi and BS Chandrasekhar were still bamboozling visiting teams at home. But Shivlal stepped up his game to form a formidable trio with Ravi Shastri and Dilip Doshi.

In his debut series, Shivlal picked up 24 wickets in five Tests against a strong Australian side. He took 15 wickets in the three-Test series in Australia and produced his best match-figures of eight for 118 which helped India enforce the follow-on.

Shivlal was never a big turner of the ball but was famous for bowling long spells. His perseverance ultimately paid off. He recorded spells of 75 overs against Pakistan in a single innings at Faisalabad in 1984 and went on to bowl more than 95 overs in that match.

Shivlal Yadav played his last Test in 1987 against Pakistan in Bengaluru.

#4 Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly

In a recent turn of events, Sourav Ganguly was handed the post of BCCI president. He was the lone candidate for the job and therefore was elected unopposed. All the members of the BCCI met at an informal setting in Mumbai and unanimously decided on Sourav Ganguly’s name as a stand against the functioning of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (COA). However, according to the sources, Ganguly’s reign is expected to be for a duration of only 10 months.

Sourav Ganguly played 113 Tests for India, scoring 7212 runs at a decent average of 42.17. Known as the God of offside, he dominated play against fast bowlers as he lifted them over covers and point for a boundary at will. He was specifically brutal against the leg-spinners, dancing down the track and hitting them with the spin over the long-on boundary for maximums.

In limited-overs format, Ganguly represented India in 311 ODIs and scored 11363 runs at an impressive average of 41.02. From 2000 to 2005, he captained India in 49 Test matches, winning 21 and losing 13. He also famously led India to their second World Cup final in 2003 against Australia.

Ganguly took over the reins of the Indian team when its image was tarnished due to the match-fixing scandals involving prominent cricketers. The stage is set again for ‘Dada’ to do wonders with a post that is in constant media and legal scrutiny.