Sourav Ganguly is clever, sharp and can handle himself: Aunshuman Gaekwad

Former Indian cricket team coach Aunshuman Gaekwad has been playing an active part to keep himself associated with cricket as much as possible. But, unlike former India cricketers like Sourav Ganguly, Brijesh Patel and Mohammad Azharuddin, Aunshuman Gaekwad has kept himself away from cricket administration.

In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda’s Indranil Basu, Aunshuman Gaekwad felt that cricketers should concentrate on their strengths and leave matters like finance and administration to those who can handle it better.

“Cricketers are limited to do certain cricketing job. We are not equipped to handle finance or administration,” Aunshuman Gaekwad said during an exclusive interview to Sportskeeda.

“If I am given Rs 100 crores today, I’ll become like Cricket Australia (CA) and invest it all in shares I think! We must have professionals to handle those aspects,” the two-time former India coach added.

However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has as cricketer as its current president, with former India captain Sourav Ganguly taking on that role. The BCCI president might also be aspiring to possibly become the next International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman, a post left vacant by India’s Shashank Manohar recently.

Aunshuman Gaekwad feels Sourav Ganguly is well-equipped to handle ICC responsiblities

Aunshuman Gaekwad, however, believes that Sourav Ganguly is a different personality to other cricketers and would do a good job if given an opportunity to lead ICC.

“Ganguly is clever, sharp and knows what he is doing. He can handle himself,” Aunshuman Gaekwad said about Sourav Ganguly’s credentials.

“The ICC and BCCI is meant only about cricket. All the money is made for cricket and cricketers. That’s where Ganguly the cricketer comes in, I feel that Ganguly is not a bad choice for ICC chairman,” Aunshuman Gaekwad, who was also chief selector of the Indian team, said.

In his role as chief selector, Aunshuman Gaekwad had to take some tough calls. The former Baroda batsman believes most cricketers are not capable of assessing the right time to call it quits.

Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni hasn’t played an international game since the 2019 World Cup exit after the loss to New Zealand. Aunshuman Gaekwad said the tough call has to be taken by a ‘third person’, which in this case would be the selectors.

“Every individual feels they have cricket left in them. Whether it’s Tendulkar, Dravid or Kumble. You don’t feel you are useless for the team. It has been your life, so it’s very difficult to walk away. But the third eye doesn’t see it the same way, they see someone better coming,” Aunshuman Gaekwad explained.