Sourav Ganguly to contest for Cricket Association of Bengal’s President post

Sourav Ganguly, the outgoing chief of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), will return to the post of President of his state unit Bengal Cricket Association (CAB), PTI reported. The former India captain on Saturday told PTI that he will contest the CAB elections.

Sourav Ganguly set to return as CAB president

In the latest development, outgoing BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has confirmed that he would contest the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president election. This news comes amid reports that Ganguly was not getting a second term as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The former India captain is set to be replaced as board president by 1983 World Cup winning-team member Roger Binny in the apex body’s upcoming AGM (Annual General Meeting). Ganguly reportedly wanted to continue as the BCCI President but he was informed that there is no precedence of giving a second term to the board president. A BCCI source revealed that Ganguly was offered the position of IPL Chairman. However, the former Indian captain refused to accept the offer. 

While there were initial speculations that the Board could nominate Ganguly for the position of ICC chairman, the BCCI insiders indicated that it may not be the case. And with October 22 being the deadline for filing the nominations for the CAB elections, Ganguly has decided to contest for the position. “I will file the nominations on October 22 and we will decide on the panel around October 20,” Sourav Ganguly said from Kolkata.

Over the last few days, the rival faction was busy finalising its candidates for the CAB elections, but now with Ganguly around, it’s a huge boost for the current disposition of the CAB. When contacted, members of the other group, however, did not comment on Ganguly’s decision and took a ‘wait and watch’ approach.

After failing to receive a second consecutive term as BCCI president, Sourav Ganguly told Republic Bangla that he would now be contesting for the post of CAB president. “We have an election (CAB).  I will be contesting for the President’s post. This is all I can say,” said Ganguly.

The BCCI election next Tuesday is expected to be a formality since none of the office-bearers’ posts had more than one nomination. Rajya Sabha member of parliament Rajeev Shukla is set to retain his post as vice-president. BCCI will have two new faces as office-bearers. Mumbai’s BJP chief Ashish Shelar will be treasurer while Assam Cricket Association’s Devajit Saikia is the new joint secretary.