Sourav Ganguly at the Eden, on Wednesday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: In the fast track age of Twenty20s, even the annual general meetings are conducted at a breakneck speed.

The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) AGM, on Wednesday, was wrapped up in 40 minutes flat. That’s fast in every sense of the term since AGMs are, usually, thought to be a platform where you evaluate, criticise and, in all probability, chalk out the way forward with improvement being the agenda.

To be optimistic is to think that all is well with the CAB and that paved the way for a smooth and sharp AGM. The previous chapter of the meeting was a marathon affair which ran for hours. Of course, one can argue that with the opposition being reduced to just a collective noun this time, and candidates being elected unopposed, the short duration of the meeting is justified.

Even, Sourav Ganguly, who attended the AGM for the second year on the trot, failed to breathe life into the dormant AGM.

In fact, Sourav’s future in the administrative affairs of the CAB looked lean. The cricket development committee, of which he was a member, had just one meeting in the past year and president Jagmohan Dalmiya wasn’t too clear about its future.

Also, with sources indicating that former joint secretary Chitrak Mitra will be co-opted in the vacant spot of the working committee, the stylish southpaw will have little left to do.

However, Dalmiya was candid enough to admit the ailments of Bengal cricket and that they were on the top of the association’s agenda. “We appreciate the fact that we have been elected unopposed but that brings upon more responsibility. We are conscious about the fact that Bengal didn’t do too well in the Ranji Trophy last season. Though we have selected the coach, we are still to work out the coaching programmes. That issue tops our list,” said Dalmiya.

He also expressed concern over the standard of umpiring and match-fixing, which plagued the local matches last season. “Umpiring is an equally important issue. We are working on means of enhancing its standard. We are also keeping an eye on the match-fixing issue,” he said.

Commenting on the state government’s decision to levy amusement tax on World Cup tickets, Dalmiya said: “We have not yet seen the bill. Once we see it, I will personally meet the state finance minister to sort out the issue.”

Some members of the anti-Dalmiya faction were unhappy with the association’s disbursement of IPL funds to the respective affiliated units. But Dalmiya held a different opinion. “We have earmarked Rs 1.5 crore for the purpose. We have made a fixed deposit and the interest will be distributed equally among the units. However, there’s nothing called the IPL fund, it’s just a grant which we are receiving from the BCCI and passing on to the units,” Dalmiya described.

Mukul Roy, minister of state in shipping, represented Greer Club at the AGM.

Out of the 118 affiliated units who were supposed to attend the meeting, 112 turned up. Ask the CAB brass about the names of those who were absent and you will be greeted with a silence.

But who cares, after all, all is well with the CAB.