Everyone will be respected till I am around: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly

"Everyone will be respected till the time I am around," Ganguly said.

Ensuring that performance would be the yardstick for all cricketers, he said, "Our goal is to make cricketers' life easier and smoother and not difficult. They will be judged only by performance."

"Cricketers at any levels are at ease to play the game," the former skipper said.

Ganguly, one of the most successful Indian skippers, was unanimously nominated as the chief of one of the richest cricket boards though he was not the first choice to assume the topmost position.

Though initially former BCCI president N Srinivasan's known man Brijesh Patel was favourite to get nominated, in a dramatic turnaround Ganguly emerged as the consensus candidate.

Giving utmost importance to India's current captain Virat Kohli, Ganguly said, "Virat Kohli is the most important person. I have also remained the captain of the team. Opinions and discussions will be there."

"Virat Kohli will get full cooperation from me. He will get what he needs," he added.

Over Mahendra Singh Dhoni's future as a cricketer, Ganguly remembered his own days of "comeback" saying, "When I was dropped, nobody thought I would come back. But I came back and played for four years. Champions do not finish quickly.... I don't know what is in his (Dhoni's) mind but we will deal with it."

Regarding the revenues from the International Cricket Council (ICC), the southpaw said, "We will make sure the BCCI gets the dues from the ICC."

The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) vacated its office on Wednesday after Ganguly took charge of the Indian cricket board.