In an unusually candid retort that may well raise a few eyebrows in the Kolkata Maidan, CAB joint-secretary and Dalmiya confidant Biswarup Dey came down heavily on the latest sensation in world cricket.

To get into the BCCI, Ganguly has a much bigger hurdle to negotiate — getting elected into the CAB, which is a prerequisite for launching his bid to enter the BCCI administration.

And Dey doesn’t think it will be easy at all for the iconic cricketer. “If the news is true, then I have to say that Sourav Ganguly should get his stance right first before venturing into cricket politics. In the game of cricket, the first thing a batsman needs to do is to get his stance right. That’s what he (Sourav) has to do first before he goes ahead in his bid for the CAB president’s post or the BCCI president’s post — get his stance right. Anyway, in a democratic set-up, anybody has the right to contest, we welcome him, but we are not worried,” said a tongue-in-cheek Dey.

The CAB joint-secretary’s counter-attack on Ganguly came in the backdrop of speculation that the cricketing icon could be looking to contest against Dalmiya in the tussle for the CAB president’s post this month-end.

However, despite no confirmation or denial from Ganguly himself, it’s all but official that the former Indian skipper has decided not to take on the might of Dalmiya this summer, instead, looking to focus on preparing for a full-fledged contest at next year’s annual CAB elections.

Dey went on to argue that it’s unfair for Ganguly-backers to hope that the ex-player is now eyeing a role in CAB administration. “Look, he has to justify the bid for entering into cricket administration here. Let him work at the grass-root level first.”