Sourav Ganguly returned to the helm of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) on Monday after six years as the former India captain was elected unopposed at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) at a city hotel. The 53-year-old had earlier served as CAB president from 2015 to 2019 before taking over as the chief of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Sourav, who recently was announced as the head coach of Pretoria Capitals in upcoming edition of SA20, replaced his elder brother and former Bengal cricketer Snehasish Ganguly, who stepped down after completing his six-year tenure.

The new CAB panel led by Ganguly will also have Bablu Kolay (secretary), Madan Mohan Ghosh (joint-secretary), Sanjay Das (treasurer) and Anu Dutta (vice-president). Ganguly will also represent CAB in the BCCI’s AGM on Sunday, where Mithun Manhas will be announced as new Indian cricket board president, replacing 1983 World Cup-winner Roger Binny.

Sourav Ganguly’s immediate major plans

One of Ganguly’s major plans for the betterment of Bengal cricket is to strengthen the state’s first-class infrastructure. The launch of a new state-of-the-art academy in Dumurjala, Howrah is also in the list.

“Bengal have played (Ranji) final twice. Cricket must develop, it’s no rocket science,” Ganguly said on Monday. “Dumurjala Academy on nine acres of land. It would be like Kalyani Academy but there would be floodlights and other state-of-the-art facilities. It’s very near to the city, the plan has been sanctioned, it will take at least one, one and a half years,” he added.