West Bengal elections: In a massive move amid the formation of new government in West Bengal, ex-India and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) tearaway pacer Ashoke Dinda as the sports minister of the state.

Having achieved a historic victory in West Bengal after winning 206 out of 294 constituencies in the state after entering the polls in April, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will form the new state government.

Ashoke Dinda becomes a two-time MLA

It’s worth noting that Dinda had also won the Moyna constituency during the elections previously held in 2021. Unfortunately, the ruling party had not done enough to form a state government of their own. With the retired cricketer now set to take over as the Sports Minister, it will be two times in a row that a cricketer will hold the post. When the Trinamool Congress was in power, ex-batter Manoj Tiwary held the role. Tiwary was also then an active cricketer and captained Bengal in the four-day cricket competition Ranji Trophy.

Notably, the 42-year-old seems to have overcome some heavyweights to take the spot and rise as the sports minister. Reportedly, Dinda’s closest competitor was Sourav Sikdar, who emerged triumphant from the North Dum Dum constituency and is related to the Southern Samity football club.

How did Ashoke Dinda fare in his playing career?

Born on Mach 25, 1984 in Kolkata, Dinda had a powerful and complex bowling action and made his first-class debut 2005. His 50-over and T20 debut followed three years later. The right-arm speedster’s first appearance for the Men in Blue came in December 2009 in a T20I against Sri Lanka in Nagpur. Nevertheless, Dinda couldn’t last in the international arena beyond 2013, featuring in 13 ODIs and nine T20Is, bagging 29 scalps collectively.