Didi picks Dada! Sourav Ganguly appointed Cricket Association of Bengal president

Kolkata Former India captain Sourav Gangulywas on Thursday appointed the president of the Cricket Associationof Bengal CAB ending the suspense on who will take over thestate cricket body following the death of Jagmohan DalmiyaThe announcement of Ganguly was made by West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee in presence of senior CAB officialsand state government ministers at the state secretariatbuildingSourav Ganguly PicAFPIn another major development Dalmiyas son Avishek wasinducted as one of the two joint secretaries replacing thecurrent incumbent Ganguly Subir Ganguly will continue as theother joint secretary while Biswarup Dey will continue astreasurerWhile the Chief Minister officially made it clear that itwas a decision taken by the CAB officials and she was there tosupport their bid to take the game of cricket in the stateforward it was apparent that it took governmentinterference to annoint Ganguly in place of the late DalmiyaWe are going through a big crisis after his Dalmiyaunfortunate death Someone has to head CAB Dalmiya lovedcricket so much So its important that the people closed tohim should run the show cricket family is most importantMy only request to all of you that be together remain unitedand take the Jagudas legacy forward CM Banerjee said withinterim sports minister Arup Biswas by her sideWhile some CAB officials had to depend on theinterference of the ruling party the CM clarified that it wasa decision taken by the officials themselvesIts not fair for me to interfere I just want them todo well Im there with them like a deputy or colleague Itswhat they have decided together Banerjee saidI should not be announcing this but since all of themare requesting I feel that as someone Sourav Ganguly who hadled India so many years should now take charge of the role andthey should form the set up with Abhishek Subir Biswarup andall other senior members she saidThe 43yearold Ganguly on his part said Anything inlife is a new challenge I am particularly happy that Avishekis coming into administration as it is a very emotional timefor him Myself Biswarup Subir would all work together andthere wont be any problems We have 117 actually 121members and we will decide the way forwardWhile Dalmiya Junior with no experience in sportsadministrative was the biggest gainer in this whole episodethe two big losers were treasurer Dey and senior jointsecretary Subir who were harbouring aspirations of going intoan election the option of which ended today after CMsinterventionKnowing fully well that the announcement at the State Secretariat could invite criticism Banerjee repeatedly stressed that it should be controversy freePlease dont involve the state government here I am nobody Its what they decided Please dont bring any controversy here Its their decision as they all are cricket lovers the Chief Minister saidBanerjee said that after Dalmiyas demise the CAB neededa guardian and hence these decisions have been taken till theassociations elections in July 2016After Jagudas death CAB is without a head now and theyhave decided that Sourav will become the president and in hisplace Avishek will become the joint secretary till the nextelections in July Banerjee addedGanguly on his part seconded Chief Ministers viewLike she said it is not her decision She had spoken tothe members For me this is not everything I will do whateverI can whatever they want me to do Will take over immediatelyas we have a game on October 8 These are big shoes to fillthe Prince of Calcutta saidAvishek said She Banerjee has been very supportivewhenever theres been any crisis in cricket in Bengal My dadalso had found her always by his side when he faced a problemShe has asked that the Bengal cricket fraternity shouldbe together for betterment of the sport in this state Wecommunicated to her whatever we had in our minds and she hasbeen very supportiveTreasurer Dey who lost a lot of ground todaysaidSomeone has to take over and Sourav will take over asCAB president As per our constitution we have to electsomeone in a Special General Body meeting within 60 days andaccordingly we will give a notice 14 days prior to the SGMJagnohan Dalmiya was like a jewel in world cricket andits an emotional moment for all of us that his son Avishekis becoming the new joint secretary Till Dalmiya was alivehe didnt bring his son to cricket arena but we all togethercoaxed him to come in We all believe that Dalmiyas soulwould be happy to see thisThe way our CM brought all of us together in thiscrisis its a great sign for Bengal cricket She also wantedto have a Jagmohan Dalmiya Memorial Cricket Academy She wantsit to be the best in the country and he will speak to us aboutit in the coming days Personally Im overwhelmed the way shehas brought all of us together Dey tried to put up a bravefront despite his morale being totally crushedAnother joint secretary Subir Ganguly said We all arereally happy and more so because we could bring Avishek tothe cab cricket administration