Kolkata, Oct 14 (IANS): A day before taking over as the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president, Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday roped in a new sponsor for the Bengal cricket team in the form of IDBI Life Insurance.
The company announced a two-year tie up.
In a glittering ceremony at the Eden Gardens, the firm announced it would look after well-being of all age groups and the vision 2020 which has already brought in stars like Muttiah Muralitharan and V.V.S Laxman to coach young kids.
"I had a meeting with Sourav and then things were fixed. We wanted to be absolutely sure about the venture, and after the meeting we were confident of it," Vighnesh Shahane, CEO, IDBI Life Insurance, told media persons while handing over a symbolic cheque to a senior CAB official where the words "complete support" were inscribed.
Ganguly stressed on the need for sponsors to groom budding cricketers.
"There was hardly any money when I started playing the game. I played a Ranji trophy match for Rs.400 only. Sponsors are very necessary these days. First class cricket is neglected but that is where it all starts. I hope this will be fruitful for both, us and IDBI,a Ganguly said.
At the event, Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary, U-23 skipper Sandipan Das and U-19 captain Agniva Pan unveiled the jersey which was launched with a IDBI logo on the chest.
Funnyman Vikram Sathaye stole the show in the evening with his cricket related jokes and then there was an audio-visual segment where Ganguly had a trip down the memory lane.
On the giant screen, snippets of Gangulya's career was shown including footage where as a captain he was at his aggressive best. His century at Eden Gardens made him emotional.
"An Eden Gardens hundred, it was special. I remember when I got back home, my father was sitting back at the sofa. He stood up, hugged me and said: "It is the proudest moment of my life."
"I was caught up mentally. Everytime I would come here for practice every one would say, 'I want a hundred from you', I was too worked up. Not to have hundred here would have certainly left a dot in my career," he added.
Besides Ganguly, the vacant post of CAB joint secretary will be filled in by late cricket czar Jagmohan Dalmiya's son Avishek.