Sunil backs Sourav to take BCCI reins

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has thrown his weight behind another former skipper, Sourav Ganguly, to take over the Board of Control for Cricket in India after the Indian Supreme Court forced Anurag Thakur to stand down as president on Monday.

When asked to name a person whom he felt was capable of taking over the role of president and bearing the brunt of the calamitous situation, Gavaskar responded: "BCCI has got a very good bench strength to take up the bigger roles and one name that comes to my mind is Sourav Ganguly."

"Remember, in 1999-2000 when Indian cricket was gripped by the match-fixing saga, Ganguly was given the captaincy and he turned it around," he told NDTV.

"The BCCI has lost face internationally after this entire saga," Gavaskar said. "We are in for a completely new era of Indian cricket."

The verdict to sack Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke in the BCCI versus Justice RM Lodha Committee came after months of a bitter court battle. The Lodha Committee, appointed by the Supreme Court after a betting scandal in the Indian Premier League, recommended sweeping changes, but the board's refusal to implement those led to the fallout.

"Once the Supreme Court gives order, that has to be accepted," Gavaskar said.