Ganguly gets Bengal cricket throne

Former skipper of the Indian cricket team Saurav Ganguly was on Thursday named the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).

The announcement was made by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the secretariat, a day after Ganguly met her along with Abhishek, the late Jagmohan Dalmiya’s son.

“I am honoured to announce the name of Saurav as the next CAB president,” she said. Mamata, however, said she had nothing to do with Ganguly’s selection and it was done as per the choice of CAB officials.

Her clarification comes in the wake of rumours that she had initially wanted acting state sports minister Arup Biswas to head CAB.

Sources said Mamata changed her mind after considering the political ramifications of meddling in the procedure months before the state Assembly polls.

Ganguly took over as CAB joint secretary in 2013 under the patronage of Dalmiya, who was the president of CAB and BCCI.

While Ganguly becomes the chief of the state cricket association, his present office will be filled by Abhishek, making his foray into the world of cricket administration.

Sources said that the chief minister’s backing will go a long way in helping Ganguly to do away with any opposition within the CAB.

Despite Ganguly’s short tenure as a cricket administrator, he was seen as the obvious choice to replace Dalmiya and his meeting with Mamata on Wednesday led to intense speculation.

While Wednesday’s meeting with the chief minister lasted for around an hour, Ganguly had refused to comment, calling it a visit to invite Mamata to Dalmiya’s shraadh ceremony.