What’s the story?
Former India skipper and Bengal’s biggest cricketing icon Sourav Ganguly will now have a stand named after him at the historic Eden Gardens.
Four other stands will be christened after former player Pankaj Roy and former CAB presidents BN Dutt, AN Ghosh and Snehasnshu Acharya. The other one will be called the Jagmohan Dalmiya stand.
"We received the permission from the defence authorities. We will complete the work as early as possible," Ganguly said. “We got the permission today only. We have been pursuing this for the last six months.”
In case you didn’t know...
Ganguly is still considered the biggest icon in Bengal. There are still people who hero-worship him even after his retirement some 8 years back.
The proposal to name the stands had been passed in the Cricket Association of Bengal last year but with the army being the custodian of the Maidan where Eden Gardens is located its permission was necessary before any such decision could have been executed.
Ganguly played cricket for the national team from 1992 to 2008 in which he featured in 113 Tests and 311 One-Day Internationals (ODI). While he scored 7212 runs in Tests, he also amassed 11363 runs in the 50-over format.
The heart of the matter
Bengal’s biggest sporting icon Sourav Ganguly is all set to have a stand named after him at the Eden Gardens. Ganguly who is presently the president of the CAB said on Thursday that they have got the permission from the army to name the stands. The ground holds special memories for the ex-Indian skipper who grew up playing on the hallowed turf.
Besides Sourav, the late Jagmohan Dalmiya, who served as ICC, BCCI and CAB president during his hey days will also have a stand named after him.
What’s next?
The work will start in a few days, and Ganguly is confident it will finish quite soon too. He also said the working committee is yet to decide which stands will have the new names but assured the decision will take just a few days more.
Sportskeeda’s take
Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar have stands named after them at the iconic Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. Even the DDCA have named two blocks after Virender Sehwag at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
In the West Indies, they have grounds named after cricketers like Vivian Richards and Darren Sammy. For the work Ganguly has done for cricket in the country he does deserve a stand on the ground he considered his second home.
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