FIFTY-SIX (56) year- old former Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) secretary and former president of the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) Bishwa Panday told Chronicle Sport recently he is always available to serve Guyana’s cricket and sports in general as an administrator. In an exclusive interview, Panday who lost out on his first attempt to ascend to the hierarchy of Guyana ’s cricket last January to long serving president and West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) director Chetram Singh, said he would run for the presidency if the members feel he is good enough to do so.  
“In all fairness, I don’t know if I will contest the presidential race for the GCB at the next elections, but I am always available to serve cricket and others sport as well. In fact, I have always been a supporter of sports in Guyana as well as a servant of cricket and I would be available to continue serving Guyana ’s cricket if it’s the members wish for me to do so.”  
The former WICB director, who was involved in cricket administration for the past 30 years, said that the running of the GCB or any administrative office is not all about the leader, but his support staff.  
“When someone on the outside takes a look at the present administration of the GCB, they see a clear indication that it is not all about the president and who he is, but those who feel they should be the president, which means the support staff is not a cohesive unit.  
It is important that the support staff is competent and cohesive, as the present state of Guyana ’s cricket is in need of such persons. I have been getting calls from individuals with regards to the presidency of the GCB, but as I stated earlier, once the members are desirous of having me serve as president, then I am willing to do so”, stated Panday.  
He continued to state, “Once that is done (members expressing their desires to have me serve), then I will surround myself with a competent and cohesive team that will work together in a harmonious way towards facing the challenges of cricket in this country’ as I did with the GCA when I took over the presidency back in 2007.  
One of the ways to best serve Guyana ’s cricket is to take the administration back to the days where people who ran the cricket, did so for the love of it and as a cohesive unit, displaying togetherness every step of the way.”  
Panday who is also the managing director of P and P Insurance Brokers, made mention of a mission statement that can be used as a guideline and cited his mission statement for the last GCB elections as an example.  
“I have never contested an election without knowing where I wish to take that body. When I ran for the presidency of the GCA, I had a clear vision where I wanted to take it and the members can judge me on that with regards to what was achieved and what was not.  
I had a vision statement when I ran for the presidency of the GCB last year and some of that can be applicable now, despite the passage of time, such as having consultations with the various County Boards and stakeholders to determine what competitions we need to play in Guyana and to see those competitions regularized.”  
He further stated, “Essentially what needs to be done is determine the type of competitions that should be played from the school level to the Inter-county level, with each area being responsible for managing its respective competition.  
At the moment, the GCB superintends quite a few competitions but those competitions will not produce future cricketers unless they are complemented by competitions at the lower level.”  
Panday also visualised a closer relationship with the public and the sponsors of Guyana ’s cricket, some of whom has withdrawn their relationship with the GCB for one reason or the other.
“One of the things I will love to do is hold a stakeholders conference in all three counties.  What I have in mind is to go to Essequibo , Berbice and Demerara and convene meetings of all persons whom we consider to be a stakeholder of cricket. 
I am talking about the area boards, clubs, umpires, business community, sponsors and potential sponsors, Regional Democratic Committees (RDC), Regional Chairmen and persons who we can bring on board to help us map out a strategy towards the development of cricket. 
The government cannot be left out of this because I see them as being an integral part of our plan, going forward. In fact, they are the major stakeholder of cricket in Guyana and we need to have them on board with whatever we plan to do.
What I would be looking for, is to have a bottom to up management structure, where the views of the ordinary club member and even club executives can be brought on board in a structured way, so that we will be able to broaden the base of our consultations and try and involve as many people as possible.”
Mentoring of young cricketers is another area the former GCB secretary would love to see implemented, as he feels many young cricketers leave school without being rounded as in days gone by.
“This is a very important issue, as many of our young cricketers today leave school without being as rounded as they used to be in the days gone by and it is important that we have a cadre of mentors who will be able to assist these young cricketers in guiding them on the way forward. 
We need to teach these young people not only the cricketing aspects but also life skills to help them to cope with the challenges on and off the cricket field”, Panday stated.
“The large sums of money which can be earned by young cricketers can test their ability to use it wisely and unless they are equipped with the knowledge to invest it for the future, they are likely to squander same in a jiffy.
They must therefore be schooled in the proper use of their finance which they have worked hard to achieve and having spoken to some of my clients and business associates when I was contesting the presidency last year, I would be more than happy to do so again, this time around, in order to get the necessary financial support to start a mentoring programme for our young cricketers.”
In addition to dealing with finances, mentoring is a broader concept that includes things like life and social skills, behavioural patterns, sportsmanlike behaviour, discipline and working as a team.   
The mentors will be expected to assist the young cricketers in developing themselves not only in playing the game but the skills that I have mentioned, as it would be my aim to develop our cricket, but such cannot be done if the members don’t need it”, said Panday who is also a mentor for the Institute of Private Enterprise Development.  
Back in 2009, Panday pictured himself as the man to make the change that is needed in Guyana ’s cricket and quite a few executives of some county boards have that same feeling, even though he is not an administrator of the sport today.  
On the other hand, present vice president of the GCB and president of the Demerara Cricket Board (DCB) Bissoondyal Singh may have it in mind to contest the hierarchy of the GCB.  
It was also rumoured that Anand Sanasie, the GCB’s secretary was looking to throw his name in the reckoning, but when contacted via telephone, Sanasie said he is not contesting the presidency, but will throw his weight behind the best candidate.  
“As one who has been at the forefront of the GCB for the past two years with regards to handling the affairs of the board and recently negotiated the CLT20 team’s participation in South Africa, I will not be contesting, but offer my support to the best candidate” Sanasie stated.