Ahead of the Assembly polls in West Bengal, former India pacer Ashoke Dinda has joined the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

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Dinda officially entered into politics on Wednesday (February 24). He was welcomed in the party by Union Minister Babul Supriyo and state BJP vice-president Arjun Singh at a public meeting in Kolkata.

Dinda announced his retirement from all forms of cricket earlier this month. He had made his First-Class debut for Bengal in 2005 and continued to play cricket for them till 2020.

Dinda featured in 116 First-Class matches for Bengal, taking 420 wickets at an average of 28.28. In List A cricket, he played 98 games and bagged 151 wickets.

Coming to his exploits in international cricket, Dinda played 13 ODIs and 9 T20Is, taking 12 and 17 scalps respectively.

In the Indian Premier League (IPL), Dinda represented Kolkata Knight Riders, Pune Warriors, Rising Pune Supergiant, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Delhi Capitals, picking up 68 wickets in 78 matches with a best of 4/18 at an economy of 8.22.