Ganguly elected CAB joint secretary

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has been elected joint secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) while Jagmohan Dalmiya was re-elected unopposed as the association's president for yet another term.

"I think it's a very good development as when I was the BCCI president, he was the captain (of Indian cricket team). As a team we've worked very well. I feel this team will work again," Dalmiya told reporters after the CAB's 83rd Annual General Meeting in Kolkata.

At the time of the AGM, when Ganguly was being elected joint-secretary in absentia succeeding Sujan Mukherjee, the cricketer-turned-commentator was seen handing over the Test cap to debutant fast bowler Pankaj Singh in Southampton.

To many insiders it was 'unprecedented' in CAB's history that a joint secretary was not part of the annual meeting. Dalmiya said Ganguly would do justice to his new role as a cricket administrator.

"He has told us that he would be able to devote time (to CAB). Be it cricket captaincy or work related to administration he has done exceedingly well in the past. We're hopeful he would manage well," Dalmiya said.

Ganguly succeeded Mukherjee, whose four-year term got over this month and his club Barisha Sporting was represented by his maternal uncle and club president Arup Chatterjee. It remains to be seen how Ganguly would manage time as he had also forayed into football, co-owning the Kolkata franchise of the upcoming Indian Super League.

Having held some key positions in various sub-committees like cricket development, this would be a full-time entry for the 42-year-old, who quit international cricket in November 2008.

Asked what will happen to the Ganguly-chaired cricket development committee, Dalmiya said: "The committee has to be reformed now." Ganguly is expected to take charge on August 1, after the completion of third Test.

Besides Ganguly, there was another cricketer in Bengal captain Laxmi Shukla, who also stepped into administration representing Howrah Saikia Friends at the working committee. "I've seen the life on the field. Now it's time to embrace a little bit of administration off it. I've a lot to learn," Shukla said.

Hailing Ganguly's foray into cricket administration, Shukla said: "It's really a very good move. Dada's (Ganguly) entry into CAB as a joint-secretary will give Indian cricket a new voice."

As for Dalmiya, 74, it was just yet another term at the CAB where he has held the chair since 1993 except for a 19-month hiatus after he was unseated in December 2006 following his expulsion from the BCCI on embezzlement charges during the 1996 World Cup.

The former ICC president, however, made a resounding comeback, beating Prasun Mukherjee in the 2008 elections.

President: Jagmohan Dalmiya; Vice-presidents: Sankar Nath Bagchi, Samar Paul, Amiya Kumar Auddy and Sudip Biswas; Joint Secretaries: Subir Ganguly and Sourav Ganguly; Treasurer: Biswarup Dey