Jagmohan Dalmiya at the CAB on Wednesday. Picture by Santosh Ghosh

Calcutta: Having regained control of the Eden, Jagmohan Dalmiya reached home around 4 am on Wednesday, but just couldn’t sleep for more than a couple of hours.

“The phones started to ring from so early in the day... I had to accept the greetings of well-wishers,” Dalmiya told The Telegraph on the morning after a stupendous win in the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) elections.

Overwhelmed, yet aware that a steep task lay ahead, he added: “The expectations are so high... It’s assumed that Jagmohan Dalmiya will set things right overnight, but I’m no magician and certainly don’t have a magic wand.”

If the expectations indeed are high, it’s because of Dalmiya’s excellent record at every level, be it international or within the country.

“Look, I’ll need a few days to settle down... I’m aware that plenty needs to be done and, as I told you last night, nothing personal is a priority... The one priority is getting the state’s cricket back on track... Quickly too...

“I’ll be seeking the views of colleagues, it’s not that I’ll function as an autocrat,” he pointed out, as the landlines at his residence kept ringing.

The Dalmiya group’s assessment is that the ousted lot pushed cricket in the state back by “10 years.” That’s an awful lot of catching up to do and the next season isn’t far away.

Among other things, Dalmiya must quickly appoint the next coach (Mohinder Amarnath is an inspired choice No. 1) and finalise who’ll sit in the two chairs reserved for the assistant secretaries.

Those posts don’t figure in the elections.

It’s almost taken for granted that Naresh Ojha will occupy one chair, but there are at least half-a-dozen hopefuls and Dalmiya’s skills will be tested.

Despite the very high margin (24) of his victory over Prasun Mukherjee, Dalmiya can’t afford to antagonise voters who’re looking for a tangible reward, not only a ‘thank-you’.

“We’ve won as a group and the matter, I’m sure, will be settled within... I don’t see a problem on any front,” he said.

Incidentally, despite being in the chair from January 2007, Mukherjee (a former commissioner of police) got fewer votes this time — 47. Back in 2006, when he’d tried to unseat Dalmiya, he’d collected 56.

Embarrassing, to say the least, and an indication of the complete disillusionment across the CAB.

Moving away from the CAB, it will be interesting how the ruling group in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as a whole reacts, over time, to Dalmiya’s comeback — 19 months after being banished, an act seen as vindictive.

“Dalmiya’s an old hand... Anybody who is a legitimate representative of an affiliated unit can attend meetings... Why should we react to the CAB elections? It’s not necessary,” asserted a key office-bearer of the BCCI.

As the CAB is a member of the working committee, August 23 will mark Dalmiya’s return in a BCCI forum as that’s the date for its next meeting, in Mumbai.

The Lalit Modis may not be looking forward to again sitting in the same room as Dalmiya, but one learns that some from the ruling group too have already called in person to congratulate the comeback man.

The D-Factor can’t be ignored.

Footnote: Dalmiya will be calling on the venerable B.N. Dutt on Thursday. A former BCCI and CAB president, Dutt is no longer active in the Maidan (son Subrata is) but it’s pretty important to have his blessings, even if it’s indirect.