Former India captain Sourav Ganguly was appointed the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), ending the suspense on who will take over the state cricket body following the death of Jagmohan Dalmiya.

The announcement of Ganguly was made by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in presence of senior CAB officials and state government ministers at the state secretariat building.

In another major development, Dalmiya's son Avishek was inducted as one of the two joint secretaries replacing the current incumbent Ganguly. Subir Ganguly will continue as the other joint secretary while Biswarup Dey will continue as treasurer.

While the Chief Minister officially made it clear that it was a decision taken by the CAB officials and she was there to support their bid to take the game of cricket in the state forward, it was apparent that it took government interference to appoint Ganguly in place of the late Dalmiya.

NS