There are few cricketers as storied as Sourav Ganguly. A name venerated by millions, hailed as the transformational leader who oversaw a rejuvenation in India’s cricketing fortunes, and an all-time one-day great with bat in hand. Yet the so-called ‘Maharaja of Indian Cricket’ has never failed to split opinion, whether for perceived shortfalls in his playing days, or contention over his performance in subsequent administrative roles.

Earlier this term, the ever-divisive legend regaled Jesus College’s Intellectual Forum with an engrossing hour and a half’s precious insight into the mind of one of modern cricket’s most influential figures. Fascinating as it was to hear recollections from such an illustrious on-field career, the talk’s most striking aspect was undoubtedly Ganguly’s disquieting perspective on the current state of the game.

“The sport’s stark financial inequalities… have become some of the dominant themes within cricketing discourse”

Of late, the sport’s stark financial inequalities and the potentially existential threat to test cricket’s less financially powerful nations have become some of the dominant themes within cricketing discourse. The tangible impact of these economic troubles was powerfully brought to the fore earlier this year, when a rag-tag South African test squad were pummelled by New Zealand. Despite test cricket being considered the sport’s ‘pinnacle’, all the Rainbow Nation’s top cricketing talent were playing in their domestic T20 league during the series, which was prioritised as a vital reviver for Cricket South Africa’s flailing financial health.

As the current Men’s Cricket Committee chair for the International Cricket Council (ICC) – whose remit includes assisting in ‘promoting and developing the game of cricket at all levels throughout the world’ – one might have expected Ganguly to be sympathetic to the red ball plight of financially struggling sides such as the West Indies. After an exceptionally one-sided series defeat against England this summer, the eminent Sir Vivian Richards said he was “seriously concerned” for the Caribbean outfit’s future in test cricket. In the fiscal year ending 2023, Cricket West Indies recorded a net income of $14.25 million, while the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) raked in $610 million surplus earnings from the two-month long 2023 Indian Premier League season alone.

But Ganguly rebuked mounting fears about this immense disparity’s potential threat upon test cricket’s future competitiveness, asserting, “I don’t think financial imbalances create great players. I don’t think money is the reason for success. I think talent will always blossom irrespectively.” To back up his retort, the 52-year-old cited the all-conquering West Indian teams of the 1970s and 80s, who dominated the test arena while having almost “no money”.

It was almost gobsmacking. Here was a senior international cricket administrator – a member of the elite minority entrusted with safeguarding the sports future – bullishly dismissing one of the most dominant concerns of today based on events almost half a century ago.

Yet Ganguly’s striking comments are very much in line with the disquieting disconnect between modern cricket’s patent realities and the apparent mentalities of the game’s most powerful bodies. In light of anxiety over cricket’s stunted growth outside of traditional markets and doubts over the test format’s long-term viability, the ICC’s response has been to apportion 51.64% of its annual funding to India, England and Australia – prioritising the coffers of those already flourishing on-field field and economically over areas of genuine, and serious, need.

“Ganguly’s mentality appears very much in line with the consensus among cricket’s custodians”

Amidst widespread exasperation and apprehension at cricket’s massively lopsided wealth distribution, the so called ‘Big 3’ have come under increasing pressure to alleviate the alarming effects of cricket’s systemic inequality by redistributing a portion of their riches to those feeling the squeeze. While cricket’s elite trio continue to enjoy regular and lengthy test series of three or even five matches, the cash-strapped majority have become increasingly forced to shirk the financial burden of staging the longest format, with over 70% of non-‘Big 3’ test series consisting of just two matches since 2015.

Nevertheless, Ganguly felt cricket’s fat-cats should feel no compulsion to put their enormous slices of the financial pie towards maintaining test cricket’s viability beyond themselves. The former Indian captain resoundingly affirmed, “I don’t think it’s the responsibility of the BCCI, or England, or Australia (to deal with) the financial imbalances”.

In a moment of palpable irony, Ganguly was full of nostalgia for the exceptional standard of test cricket in eras gone by, fondly recalling how “every team had great players” in the 1990s and early 2000s; his joyous recollection of “winning (a test match) on day 5 at 4:30 in the evening” standing at odds with his resolute rebuttals of measures such as revenue sharing that could preserve the format’s longevity and continued competitiveness.

Leaving the talk, I felt somewhat shaken. How could someone who has previously been floated as a potential chairman of the ICC be so blissfully and emphatically unperturbed by modern cricket’s deeply flawed status quo?

Even more unnervingly, Ganguly’s mentality appears very much in line with the consensus among cricket’s custodians, who continue to propagate rife financial disparities and enable a gradual slide towards a three-team world order in the test format.