Hope Dada gets support from those who are congratulating him: Gautam Gambhir

New Delhi, Oct 19:  Former teammates have come out and congratulated Sourav Ganguly after he was selected as the next President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday. And former India opener Gautam Gambhir has joined the bandwagon and said that it was a pleasant move to have a former cricketer at the helm of affairs.

"Indian cricket has been scoring winners across the board. For starters, former India captain Sourav Ganguly being announced as the next BCCI president is a big leap taken by Indian cricket. Normally, BCCI functioning is seen as regressive and opaque but this unprecedented move to have a former cricketer in this important post is a pleasant aberration," Gambhir wrote in his column for Times of India.

While most of his former teammates have congratulated Ganguly, Gambhir wants to also see them come and support him in his endeavour to take Indian cricket to greater heights.

"I'd also hope that he gets support from those who are taking turns to congratulate Dada. As a cricketer, he could achieve results because he had support from within the dressing room and also from BCCI board room.

"Things would have been challenging for Dada without the support of the late Jagmohan Dalmiya. While he and then coach John Wright groomed guys like Sehwag, Nehra, Yuvraj, Harbhajan and Zaheer, Dada was also lucky to have all-out support from Dravid, Kumble, Tendulkar and Laxman. He'd need similar support now again from the BCCI bigwigs who know where the landmines are," he said.

The former Kolkata Knight Riders skipper said that he didn't wish to know how Ganguly landed the job and would rather focus on the changes the former India skipper brought in the functioning of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) during his time as President.

"I don't know how it happened and I am not keen on knowing it either. I am just glad that Indian cricket will be headed by someone who understands the eco-system. The changes he has brought about at Cricket Association of Bengal is a clear indication that Dada is not merely a former cricketer who'd bring on-field changes. His administrative skills will be tested but if I know Dada well, his ability of inclusive growth will hold him in good stead. But I just hope that Dada gets more than 10 months to perform otherwise it will be a wasted exercise."