West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee congratulates Sourav Ganguly for becoming the BCCI President

Sourav Ganguly, the former Indian cricketer, is all set to be appointed as the new president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). It won’t be the first time that Dada, as he is popularly known, will be a part of the cricket administration system. The 47-year-old veteran has already served twice as the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).

For the first time after 65 years, the world’s richest cricket board will have a retired Indian captain as its president. The annual general meeting will take place on October 23 in Mumbai where Ganguly’s name will be put forth. The news about Ganguly being the front-runner for the role came in after the ‘informal meeting’ on Sunday evening at the Trident in Mumbai.

Ganguly got Anurag Thakur’s backing

The meeting took place for around five hours and was attended by N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president, and more than 100 guests from all the state cricket associations. Ganguly wasn’t the first choice and rather Brijesh Patel was the initial pick. However, the rub of the green favoured Ganguly after Union minister of state Anurag Thakur stepped in and suggested his name.

It’s learned that Sourav had turned down the offer of taking the vice-president’s role. His term ends next July after which he has to go into a compulsory cooling-off period. On the verge of being appointed, Ganguly sounded overjoyed and now wants to contribute more for Indian cricket.

“I am happy with the appointment because this is the time when BCCI’s image has got hampered and it’s a great opportunity for me to do something. Whether you are elected unopposed or otherwise, it’s a big responsibility because it is the biggest organization in the world of cricket. India is a powerhouse. It will be a challenge,” he said.

In the meantime, Mamata Banerjee, the Honourable Chief Minister of West Bengal, congratulated Ganguly on yet another feather in his cap. She wished him for his upcoming innings and also called him the pride of India and Bengal.

The CM took to Twitter and wrote, “Heartiest congratulations to @SGanguly99 for being unanimously elected @BCCI President. Wish you all the best for your term. You have made India and #Bangla proud. We were proud of your tenure as CAB President. Looking forward to a great new innings.”

Here is Mamata Banerjee’s tweet

Heartiest congratulations to @SGanguly99 for being unanimously elected @BCCI President. Wish you all the best for your term. You have made India and #Bangla proud. We were proud of your tenure as CAB President. Looking forward to a great new innings.

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) October 14, 2019

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