'If Guv wants to meet you...': Sourav Ganguly responds on speculations of joining BJP

BCCI President and former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly on Sunday held an hour-long meeting with West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, which PTI sources at Raj Bhavan described as a "courtesy call" and said there is nothing political about it. There has also been speculation that he may join politics with Assembly elections in the state due in April-May next year.

'Let us keep it like that'

On Monday, Ganguly was asked if he or anyone from his family would join BJP, to which he replied, "If the Governor wants to meet you, you have to meet him. So let us keep it like that." According to media reports, Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said his meeting with the Governor was mere courtesy and there was no room for speculation.

Governor Dhankhar on Sunday said that they had a discussion on "varied issues". The Governor also said that he accepted the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president's invitation to visit the Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata. Ganguly reached Raj Bhavan at around 4.30 pm and the meeting lasted for an hour. 

BCCI AGM approves 10 teams for 2022 IPL

Meanwhile, the BCCI's governing body, last week ratified the entry of two new franchises in the IPL to make it a 10-team affair from 2022 during its Annual General Meeting (AGM).

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In another major development, the Board, in principle, decided to back the ICC's bid for the inclusion of cricket, in the T20 format, in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics "after getting some clarifications from the International Olympic Committee". "Two new teams will be introduced in the 2022 IPL," a Board source told PTI.

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Also, it was decided that all first-class players, both men and women, will be suitably compensated for the curtailed domestic season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The BCCI plans to get the domestic season underway, after several months' delay, in January with the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 championship.

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In other decisions, veteran Congress leader Rajiv Shukla has officially anointed the Board's vice president in place of his protege Mahim Verma from Uttarakhand. It was also learnt that the general body decided in favour of Sourav Ganguly continuing as a director in the ICC Board. Secretary Jay Shah will be the alternate director as well as India's representative at the Chief Executive Committee meets of the global body.

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(With agency inputs)