Has Sourav Ganguly hung up his bat?

Even in the last week,Ganguly came to train at the Eden Gardens after the BCCI initiative had opened a window for him to play in the IPL this year. But that was slammed shut in his face during the IPL governing council meeting on February 4 as four franchises reportedly raised objection against players,who went unsold at the Bangalore auction,coming to the party.

Ganguly retired from international cricket in October 2008 miffed at being dropped from the Rest of India squad for the Irani Trophy. But he continued to play for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL and made occasional appearances for Bengal in Ranji Trophy and national one-dayers. The long and controversial career,during which he has become Indias most successful Test captain,is finally over.

The Bengal left-hander is now set to pad up and take a fresh guard in cricket administration. In all likelihood he (Ganguly) would be our presidential candidate in the CAB polls in July. I dont think he would be averse to the idea, ex-CAB secretary Samar Paul,who has for years led the anti-Dalmiya faction in the state association,told The Indian Express.

Who better than him to take charge of Bengal cricket at this moment of crisis? The present CAB administration has bungled big-time that resulted in Eden Gardens losing the India-England World Cup fixture. CAB president Jagmohan Dalmiya should resign to rid us of our shame. But I dont think he will do that. So its time for Sourav to throw his hat into the ring and resurrect Bengal cricket, Paul said.

Ganguly had thrown his weight behind Prasun Mukherjee during his fight against Dalmiya for the CAB presidents post in 2008. Dalmiya,however,had the last laugh. In 2009,a section in the state cricket association wanted him to take on the incumbent but Ganguly didnt oblige as he reportedly didnt have the number. Will he be able to challenge Dalmiyas might five months down the line? I think every affiliated unit will support Sourav if he decides to contest. He always maintained that he would get into the administration only after quitting cricket. Now the time has come. His contemporaries like Anil Kumble,Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad have already taken charge of Karnataka cricket. I think this will help Sourav make up his mind, Paul explained.

So,the next few months are going to be pretty interesting. Its not easy to take on Dalmiya despite the fact that latter is now a shadow of his former self. Ganguly is already in the CABs cricket development committee and the BCCIs technical committee. But his elevation in local cricket administration is not going to be a cakewalk.