BANERJEE PLANS FOR CRICKET’S FUTURE WITH PCA SUPPORT Former Gloucestershire slow left-armer Vikram Banerjee has been given a key role at the heart of the development of cricket in England and Wales with a little help from the Professional Cricketers’ Association. Banerjee is six month into his role as Head of Strategy, a new role at an exciting time for the game with a new broadcasting deal, the rapid expansion of women’s cricket, a home World Cup in 2019 and a new T20 competition in 2020. It is only six years since Banerjee played his last match for Gloucestershire but he has since made rapid progress in the business world, initially working for a start-up consultancy, studying for an MBA at the Harvard Business School and working as Strategy Manager for Whitbread with responsibility for Premier Inns. Banerjee always seemed destined for a career in business as he graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in economics and was set to join Procter and Gamble in 2006 until Gloucestershire offered him trials and then his first professional contract. But discussions with Ian Thomas, then a Personal Development Manager and now the PCA Head of Development and Welfare, plus PCA funding for an Insights learning and development course helped Banerjee for his post-cricket career. ” I always thought that I would play cricket while I was enjoying it. I was fortunate enough to have a university degree and, having benefited from that, I am a massive advocate of the MCC Universities system,” Banerjee said. ” I knew that if I decided to go into coaching it would be through choice not because I had to. I already some options which is what the university system is brilliant at. I had already done some self-evaluation about who I was and what I enjoyed in life which was very beneficial. ” During my time with Gloucestershire I also used the support that was available from Ian Thomas. When I started Personal Development and Welfare was fairly new in cricket but I benefited a huge amount from Ian’s advice and from conversations with him either as a sounding board or for direct feedback. He has been a great help to me and I still chat to him and I owe him a great amount.” Banerjee also has his parents to thank for persuading him to opt for Gloucestershire rather than the City and to fill an application for the Harvard Business School. ” The consultancy I was working for was going to support me through a business school in the UK but my Mum said that if I was going to do an MBA why not do it at the best business school in the world?” Banerjee said. ” She downloaded the application form, I filled it in and I got in. Going there took me to another level ” That was a big turning point for me. I met some fantastic, inspirational people. We had the authors of the business books you read who were talking to you. ” Because it was the executive MBA people were older than me. Seeing what they had achieved was brilliant.” Banerjee now hopes to use his experience to benefit the development of cricket at all levels in his new role with the ECB. ” This is a brand new department and a brand new way of thinking. It’s a dream job being able to come back into your passion but in a way that you can make a difference and add value,” he said. ” With my corporate and consultancy background to add that skill set and a way of thinking to a company that has never done it before in what is a hugely exciting time for cricket. ” To be in the centre of that by helping to create the strategy is brilliant and it’s a real privilege to be part of that. ” It’s a broad remit which is the thing that is really interesting for me. It’s about initiating discussions to structure the thinking to make sure we have a clear alignment across the business and that we are all pulling in the right direction to make cricket a great game for everyone. ” How do we ensure that the ECB and cricket in this country continues to meet its vision? Where are we looking to go with cricket in this country and how do we continue to grow it? How do we continue to maximise its reach and relevance for as many people of any age as possible to ensure that more and more people of all ages are picking up a bat and ball or watching and attending games?” For further information about the PCA Personal Development and Welfare Programme click here. {{ak_sharing}}
