BCCI elects former captain Sourav Ganguly as president

MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday unanimously elected former captain Sourav Ganguly as president of India's troubled cricket board.

Cricket's massive popularity in India has helped the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) become by far the wealthiest of all of the sport's national boards, netting massive money from sponsorship and TV deals.

But it has also been embroiled in a series of scandals, including accusations of corruption and match-fixing that tarnished the Indian Premier League (IPL) — the country's lucrative T20 competition.

Ganguly, 47, the only nominee to the post, was appointed as the 39th chief of the BCCI at a meeting in Mumbai.

"It's official - @SGanguly99 formally elected as the President of BCCI," the board posted on Twitter.

His appointment ends more than two years of a Supreme Court appointed committee overseeing the board's affairs.

Ex-chief Anurag Thakur and his number two Ajay Shirke were axed by the top court in January 2017 over their failure to enact a series of recommended reforms.

One of the most successful national captains in the sport, Ganguly has promised to clean up the mess after he filed his nomination to the post last week.

The left-handed opener retired from Test cricket in 2008 having accumulated 7,212 runs including 16 centuries — his first made at Lord's on debut.