Sourav Ganguly's ineligibility puts BCCI in a fix to find Anurag Thakur's replacement

New Delhi: Supreme Court's decision of removing Anurag Thakur from the president's post has put BCCI in a fix over selecting the prime nominee among its five vice-presidents as the acting czar of the beleaguered cricket body.

Here is a closer look at the present vice-presidents:-

ML Nehru: Vice-president of the north zone, the general secretary of Dr Farooq Abdullah faction of J&K Cricket Association (JKCA), but his selection might be ruled out as he is reportedly on brink of leaving his responsibilities following the apex court's order. As the association has already made an announcement of following the court guidelines, his selection can be ruled out.

Gautam Roy: Presently in his second term as the vice-president of East zone, his records in the Delloitte international report are not clean and since he has already served for more than a decade, it is compulsory for him to undergo a cooling-off period.

TC Mathew: The west zone vice-president resigned from his post on Monday but is still considered as the front-runner as per a report in The Hindu. However, he is still holding on to his position as the KCA president.

G Gangaraju: Soon after the Supreme Court's order, the south zone vice-president said that his Andhra Cricket Association will implement all Lodha reforms from immediate effect. Despite the nod to reform, his eligibility could also questioned as he too is supposed to undergo a cooling off period.

CK Khanna: The central zone vice-president is the senior most and Supreme Court expects him to run the BCCI affairs. However, DDCA Retd Justice Mukul Mudgal termed Khanna as a "pernicious influence" in his report submitted to Delhi HC.

(READ: Sourav Ganguly breaks silence on talks of replacing Anurag Thakur - Here's what Dada said!)

Despite not being a vice-president, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly is also being considered as one of the favourites for the post, but as of now, there is no clarity over his selection. Even Ganguly would complete a three-year tenure in office in CAB and hence could even be termed ineligible for the post.

Though January 19 has been set as the deadline for senior advocates Anil Divan and Gopal Subramanian to come out with a name, it seems incredibly difficult for the duo, considering the current transition to implement Lodha reforms and the state of affairs in BCCI.

(With PTI inputs)