Sourav Ganguly - the Prince of Kolkata becomes the King
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Thursday succeeded late Jagmohan Dalmiya as the chief of Cricket Association of Bengal - a move that can pave the way for India's most successful captain to become the country's next successful cricket administrator.
The announcement was made by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in presence of senior CAB officials and state government ministers at the state secretariat building.
In another major development, Dalmiya's son Avishek was inducted as one of the two joint secretaries replacing the current incumbent Ganguly. Subir Ganguly will continue as the other joint secretary while Biswarup Dey will continue as treasurer.
While Dalmiya Junior, with no experience in sports administrative was the biggest gainer in this whole episode, the two big losers were treasurer Dey and senior joint secretary Subir, who were harbouring aspirations of going into an election, the option of which ended on Thursday after CM's intervention.
Dalmiya's death triggered a power struggle not just within the BCCI, it is also being felt in the CAB , barely three days after he died in a Kolkata hospital.
Born on July 8, 1972, Ganguly, fondly called the Prince of Calcutta, enjoyed unprecedented success as a player and then as a captain, taking India to great heights in world cricket.
Hailing from a rich and influential family in Bengal, Ganguly's cricketing journey has been a roller-coaster ride to say the least.
Indian cricket has never been short of talent but only a few had the ability to make it a winning unit and Ganguly has been one of them.
A stylish left-handed batsman who aspired to become a football player during his time at the city's St. Xavier's School, Ganguly went on to be referred as the God of the Offside.
An aggressive character on and off the field, Ganguly always came back hard at his critics that often questioned him for his lack of athleticism and slow running between the wickets. But Ganguly never failed to answer them with his bat.
A football lover, Ganguly was pushed towards cricket by his elder brother Snehashish, who was himself an established first class cricketer for Bengal. Despite being naturally right-handed, Sourav learnt to bat left-handed so he could use his brother's equipment that later turned out to be a crucial factor in his career.
Ganguly earned his place in the ODI squad following a prolific run in Ranji Trophy. Ganguly made his one-day debut as a 19-year-old in Australia in January 1992, only to be discarded after one game which experts blamed on his poor attitude.
However, as a testimony to his fighting spirit and die-hard persona, Ganguly made a thumping comeback for the Test tour of England in 1996, striking hundreds in his first two Tests before regaining his one-day spot, partnering Sachin Tendulkar to become the world's most successful opening pair in the short format - amassing 8200 runs, the highest ever for India, at an average of over 47 runs including 26 century stands.
The year 1997 saw Ganguly marrying his childhood love Dona despite reports of disapproval from the two families.
One of the most solid performances of Sourav Ganguly's career came in the year 1998 when his century took India to a victory over Pakistan in the final of the Independence Cup in Dhaka.
Also called the Maharaja, Ganguly was handed over the reins of captaincy in 2000 after Tendulkar quit the job, and went on to win an Indian record 21 Tests as skipper, including a sensational 2-1 comeback effort at home over Australia in 2001.
From 2000 to 2005 - a term considered as the golden period of Indian cricket, Ganguly stitched a formidable partnership with coach John Wright. Ganguly led India to the famous NatWest series win and levelled the series in England and Australia and led India to the 2003 World Cup final in South Africa.
However, poor fitness, batting form and a rift with the then Indian coach Greg Chappell saw his omission from the one-day side in late 2005, with Rahul Dravid taking over as captain. Some called it as the end of the road for Ganguly.
However, an undaunted Ganguly made his bid to return to the team for the second time in his career. He was picked for the South Africa tour in 2006-07 where he ended up as the leading run-scorer. Ganguly cemented his spot and also toured England and Sri Lanka in between but was dropped from limited overs cricket again early in 2008 before announcing his retirement from international cricket in October.
The Bengal southpaw has been joint secretary of the CAB from July 2014. He has also been involved in various administative roles in the BCCI including being a member of the three-man cricket advisory committee along with Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman and is also a part of the IPL Governing Council.
Ganguly, who has Dalmiya's big shoes to fill in, can be a kingmaker in the BCCI politics as being the president of the CAB, he will probably control two votes in the East Zone in the Board's elections.
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