CAB names stand after Ganguly
On an action-packed day, Bengal greats Pankaj Roy and Sourav Ganguly joined a select band of cricketers who have stands named after them at stadiums in recognition for their contribution to the game. The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) on Sunday (January 22) named four stands at the iconic Eden Gardens after cricket icons Roy and Ganguly and former BCCI presidents Jagmohan Dalmiya and Biswanth Dutt.
Former India captain Kapil Dev on Sunday unveiled a nameplate bearing Ganguly's name during a brief ceremony during the innings break of the third and final One-Day International between India and England. The C-Block to the right side of BC Roy Club House has been named after Ganguly and the L Block after Dalmiya with Ganguly himself doing the honours.
Roy, who led India once in his 43 Test appearances and shared a 413-run world-record stand for the first wicket with Vinoo Mankad against New Zealand at Madras (Chennai) in 1956, too was honoured by the CAB. Roy and Mankad's record stood for over 50 years till Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie surpassed it in 2008.
India's legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar, inaugurated the nameplate at D-Block that has been named after Roy, while former England captain Naseer Hussain did the same in H-Block named after Dutt.
The brief ceremony also featured Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was felicitated by the CAB for his contribution to Indian cricket. Dhoni, under whose leadership India won the 50-overs World Cup in 2011 and the T20 WC in 2007, was handed a citation and memento by India's first World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev. A capacity crowd screamed Dhoni's name when a footage from the icon's illustrious career was played on the giant screen.
The CAB plans to name four more Eden stands during the next international match held at the venue. Two of them will be named after war heroes to be put forward by the Ministry of Defence. The other two would be former cricketers JC Mukherjee and AN Ghosh.
Earlier in the day, Gavaskar rang the giant bell to signal the start of the ODI. The silver-coated bell, similar to the one at Lord's was installed on the lower tier of the BC Roy Club House last year. Kapil was the first to ring the bell to signal the start of play in the India-New Zealand Test here on September 30.
CAB names stand after Ganguly - Cricbuzz