KOLKATA: Former India cricket captain Jhulan Goswami on Wednesday was inducted into East Bengal’s new executive committee, which also witnessed a change of guard at the top.
After three decades of heading the club’s administration, renowned doctor Pronab Dasgupta decided to step down with city-based industrialist Murari Lal Lohia taking over as the new president.
The club also announced Rupak Saha as the new secretary after Kalyan Majumdar also decided to bow out from the post on health issues after serving it for 22 years.
“While we continue to strive for being the best in the country with our senior football team, we need to have a meaningful roadmap for the future to make East Bengal among the best in Asia,” Lohia said, hailing him as “an East Bengal fan since childhood”, after the new executive committee’s first meeting at a city hotel on Wednesday.
While Dasgupta has been named the club’s new chief advisor, Majumdar will stay in the club’s administration as one of its vice-presidents.
Speaking on the occasion, Goswami — a former ICC Women’s player of the year and No. 1 bowler in women’s ODIs — said that becoming part of East Bengal’s ExCo was never in her “wildest dream.” “I will give my best with the limited experience that I have,” she said.
According to senior club official Debartata Sarkar, the new ExCo is facing immediate challenges on two fronts — making the club financially more stable and focus on youth development programmes.
