West Bengal: For Laxmi Ratan, the pitch has changed, not the plot

Later, in a TV interview, he spoke about giving special attention to athletics.

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In December last year, Shukla, the former Bengal captain who played three One Day Internationals for his country, had abruptly announced his retirement from first-class cricket. He was reportedly frozen out by the current Ranji team set-up for not being on the same page with the management.

He went on to play club cricket for Mohun Bagan, scoring 80-odd against Sporting Union in a CAB Senior Knockout fixture on February 23. It turned out to be his last match in flannels.

Politics came calling as he was chosen by Mamata to be Trinamool Congress’ candidate from Howrah North constituency.

BJP heavyweight Roopa Ganguly posed a serious threat, as also Left Front-backed Congress candidate Santosh Pathak. But the ‘greenhorn’ batted with élan, going door-to-door and walking the extra mile during his campaign to beat his nearest rival Pathak by 26,959 votes.

“Like cricket, politics is also about bringing smiles on the faces of my fans. It’s not my bread and butter. It will never be my profession. My compassion for the people of Bengal has brought me here. Mamata Banerjee is working tirelessly to make Bengal a better place. I want to contribute,” Shukla had said.

Bengal sports fraternity has always subtly flirted with politics. Many big names even actively embraced the occupation. But no one before Shukla has been elevated to the rank of a minister.

Also, he is one of the five first-time MLAs to walk into the roll of honour, swearing-in on the Red Road on Friday.

After the ceremony, Shukla paid a visit to Eden Gardens, which he described as his “second home”. A section of the Cricket Association of Bengal, however, feels there could be an interesting sub-plot to the tale ahead of the state association’s elections in July.