West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has backed former India captain Sourav Ganguly to succeed Jagmohan Dalmiya as the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal. The unconventional declaration came at the State secretariat on Thursday evening, when Ganguly and the other CAB office-bearers went to meet her.
“Many people wanted him (Ganguly) to be the president (of CAB). He was a capable captain (of the Indian cricket team) and also handled cricket administration quite well (as its joint secretary). So, he will do justice to the new position which people want him in now,” Banerjee told reporters.
“We will have to convene a meeting and seek the support of the 121 members before the decision is finalised. I am told by my colleagues that many in the affiliated units are agreeable to the idea but it can be ascertained only when it has the sanction of the majority of the members,” Ganguly said.
Abhishek Dalmiya, the son of the late president who also accompanied the CAB office-bearers, is expected to replace Ganguly as a joint secretary.
The CAB constitution provides for a period of two months by which time a general body meeting has to be convened to decide on the new president for the remainder of the tenure of the existing committee.
“I cannot be a replacement for what we have lost. Like always I will try to do my best in whatever position my members want me to serve cricket in Bengal,” Ganguly said.
“This is a crisis period in Bengal cricket. [The chief minister] always tries to resolve a situation when there is a crisis, as the head of the state. The choice of the presidential candidate was unanimously proposed by my colleagues who had accompanied me to meet her. She also thought this the best option and gave her support. Now we will have to start the formalities to make this decision tenable.”
