CAB gets sponsors galore: Ganguly to spend more on junior cricket and infrastructure

Kolkata: Unveiling a five-star sponsors’ line-up for Cricket Association of Bengal, former India captain Sourav Ganguly, on Wednesday, said supporting first-class cricketers was tougher than sponsoring the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli.

“It’s easier to support big names like MS Dhoni or Virat Kohli but it’s tough to support the first-class cricketers who are yet to make a mark,” the CAB president said at the Eden Gardens.

Having already roped in IDBI Life Insurance to sponsor Bengal team, the CAB president, who is less than eight months into his new role, has inked multi-year deals with Bandhan Bank, Reliance LYF, BMA Stainless Limited and Parmpara, with a cumulative value of Rs 5 crore per year.

“We will spend more on junior cricket. We will give more focus to infrastructure development. Sponsors do not have any specific role. It’s a total package, you give visibility to the brands.”

The first thing in the priority list would be to revamp the electronic scoreboard, which is partially functional at the moment.

“We could not do it before the IPL because of the time constraint. It takes about six months and now we hope to do it.”