Two More IPL Seasons For Me - Dada

On Sunday, former West Indies captain and multiple record-holder Brian Lara was tempted out of retirement to play for the MCC against a Pakistan XI at Lord’s. His captain for the day, Sourav Ganguly, too was firm on staying away from the game.

Speaking minutes after the match on late Sunday night, the former India skipper said, “I’m done with India — 100 Tests is good enough! But a couple more seasons of the IPL.
“He (Lara) played in this match after an invitation from John Stephenson, whom he’s known for years. I enjoyed playing with Lara who is one of the all-time greats, and loves playing at Lord’s — he enjoys matches here,” Ganguly added.

According to Ganguly, playing at Lord’s was fun. “The MCC side did very well (losing by just six runs). It was a high pressure match, good standard of cricket, with pressure and expectations on players of both sides.”

Expressing pleasure at playing against the Pakistan players again, Ganguly said, “It’s always good to play against them. They have a tough tour coming up against Australia and England. Pakistan generate a lot of talent, they need to play aggressively and they will find success.”

Aiden Blizzard top-scored for the MCC with 73 as the hosts fell just short of the Pakistan XI’s 165 in the 20-over game.

COURTESY : Asianage

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DADA's MCC PLAYING ELEVEN ..!!!

Brian Lara will make his first appearance in an MCC side in the game, with Sourav Ganguly set to captain and Chaminda Vaas, who is currently playing for Northamptonshire, Ian Harvey, Victoria batsman Aiden Blizzard and Glenn Querl, an MCC Young Cricketer who has played for the Unicorns in the CB40 this season, also part of the line-up.

Hamid Hassan, who was the first Afghan cricketer to play at Lord's when he spent time on the MCC Young Cricketers staff in 2007, has been included in the MCC side to play Pakistan in a Twenty20 game at the ground on June 27. Mohammad Nabi, his Afghanistan teammate and another former MCC Young Cricketer, is also part of the side.

MCC has had a strong association with Afghanistan cricket since 2006, when a team led by Mike Gatting lost to Afghanistan in Mumbai. Former England allrounder and army officer Matthew Fleming, who sits on the MCC Committee, has twice been to Afghanistan to lead MCC's efforts - alongside the charity Afghan Connection - to encourage Afghan children to play cricket.

As a result, MCC Spirit of Cricket camps have been attended by hundreds of children throughout the country. In addition, MCC and Afghan Connection have instigated a cricket-pitch building programme in schools.

The team which will play MCC's first ever Twenty20 game at Lord's has an international flavour to it, with Chris Harris, the former New Zealand allrounder, and South African Tyron Henderson, who played a major part in Middlesex's victorious Twenty20 Cup campaign in 2008, also confirmed. Middlesex's John Simpson, yet another MCC Young Cricketer, will keep wicket.

MCC Twenty20 team: Sourav Ganguly (capt), Aiden Blizzard, Brian Lara, Ian Harvey, Mohammad Nabi, Tyron Henderson, Chris Harris, John Simpson (wk), Glenn Querl, Chaminda Vaas, Hamid Hassan

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A pleasant surprise: Sourav Ganguly

Calcutta: Sourav Ganguly was up early and running on Friday. All thanks to being named captain of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) XI for the T20 match against Pakistan, at Lord’s, on June 27.

“The news came as a pleasant surprise... I got the call from John Stephenson (MCC’s head of cricket) on Thursday and decided to straightaway start preparing,” Sourav told The Telegraph, before getting down to business in his rather basic office at Sourav’s, off Park Street.

It will be the first T20 staged by the MCC at Lord’s, inarguably the home of cricket, and is part of the agreement inked between the Pakistan Cricket Board and the MCC, which is sponsoring the Pakistan-Australia fixtures (two T20 Internationals, two Tests) in England.


“Pakistan have a handy pace attack and, so, I need to be fit! I haven’t trained after the IPL, which ended in April, and there aren’t many days left,” Sourav added, grinning.

Shoaib Akhtar, Sourav’s one-time mate in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has made a comeback, and is one of those expected to go flat out in cricket’s shortest version.

“Yeah, Shoaib’s there for the Asia Cup, but let him survive (the upcoming tournament in Sri Lanka) first,” Sourav quipped.
Sourav, in fact, had hand-picked Shoaib to spearhead the KKR attack, in 2008, but the script didn’t unfold the way he wanted. So much so that KKR’s management released Shoaib even before the controversy over players from Pakistan gained momentum.

India’s most successful Test captain, Sourav got back the KKR captaincy in IPL III. So, he’d been in the thick of things (and among runs — 493 to be precise) pretty recently.

Asked how he’ll be approaching the job of captaining the MCC, Sourav replied: “Won’t complicate things... I’ll just do what’s expected of me... You must, however, remember that T20 is a tough form of cricket... Today, with most of the players back in the team, Pakistan have to be rated good... I’d say formidable...”

Sourav is excited that Brian Lara (a fellow-southpaw whom he admires a great deal) will be playing under him. “I’m definitely looking forward to catching up with Brian... The great man himself... I wonder if he’s put on weight...”

The MCC XI hasn’t yet been finalised, though Chaminda Vaas, Chris Harris and Ian Harvey have confirmed participation. As also the Middlesex ’keeper, John Simpson, Victoria’s T20 specialist Aiden Blizzard and an MCC colts’ player, Glenn Querl.

“We’ll have all the names within a week,” informed Stephenson, who is hoping for an “excellent” response.

Lord’s is, of course, dear to Sourav, who got a brilliant hundred there on Test debut, 14 summers ago.

“Indeed, yes... Lord’s is and will remain very special,” Sourav, who turns 38 next month, signed off, as yet another call came on one of his two cellphones.

Nineteen months after retiring from international cricket, Sourav remains in demand — on and off the field.

The June 27 appearance, incidentally, will be Sourav’s third for the MCC. The earlier ones were in the Diana Memorial game (versus Rest of World), in 1998, and the Tsunami Relief match, against an International XI, five years ago.

Both were 50-over fixtures and Sourav scored 14 on each occasion.

The MCC XI lost to Rest of World, but beat the International XI. The captaincy had been in the hands of Mike Atherton and Stephen Fleming, respectively.

However, unlike in 1998 and in 2005, there’s no charity connection this time.

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Ganguly to lead MCC side against Pakistan !! Back to lords..!!

Sourav Ganguly will captain an MCC team that includes Brian Lara against Pakistan at Lord's on June 27. The match marks the start of Pakistan's tour of England, and is part of the MCC's sponsorship of the neutral series against Australia under the Spirit of Cricket banner.

It will be the first time the MCC has played a Twenty20 match at Lord's and the team also includes Chaminda Vass, who is currently playing for Northamptonshire, Ian Harvey and Victoria batsman Aiden Blizzard. Glenn Querl, an MCC Young Cricketer, who has played for the Unicorns in the CB40 this season is also included.

"MCC is delighted to welcome to Lord's a Pakistani side who have a proven track record in Twenty20 cricket," John Stephenson, MCC's head of cricket, said. "Shahid Afridi's men will face an exciting MCC team comprising world class performers and up-and-coming talent.

"Brian Lara is one of the finest batsmen to have ever played the game and Sourav Ganguly is a world-leading Twenty20 cricketer. The match will provide spectators with a fantastic opportunity to see wonderful cricket and great cricketers."

Pakistan's tour includes two Twenty20 internationals and two Tests against Australia before they face England in four Tests, two Twenty20s and five ODIs.

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Yuvraj thanks Ganguly for his support

A couple of days after Sourav Ganguly backed Yuvraj Singh following the latter's removal from the Indian squad for Asia Cup, the stylish batsman has thanked the former Indian skipper.

It has been a tough time for Yuvraj as the elegant southpaw was dumped from the team and critics almost wrote him off. But his one time mentor and captain came out in support praising Yuvraj for past performances exclusively on Headlines Today.

Yuvraj wrote on his Twitter page: "Thanks for your support tweeters! And also Sourav Ganguly for his comments who always gave me confidence when he was the captain!"

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Axing would be beneficial to Yuvraj : Dada

It has been a tough time for Yuvraj as the elegant southpaw was dumped from the team and critics almost wrote him off. But his one time mentor and captain came out in support praising Yuvraj for past performances exclusively on Headlines Today.

"Even when he was scoring those runs winning games for India he was still this sort of a person. Let's accept that he is a young boy. He will make friends, he will go out. That's the way life is. He also needs to enjoy life. Lots of people do it. Why do you find only Yuvraj, there are other people in the Indian team doing it. Let's not bring all these issues with Yuvraj into his game," Ganguly had remarked.

"Nobody's chapter is over till he thinks it's over. This will hurt him, it should hurt him. Because that will help him come back as a better player, make him more hungry when he comes back. Most importantly, it will give him more time to get his injuries absolutely free, his knees, his wrist," Ganguly had told Headlines Today.


"Yuvraj, as we know as is someone who has been electric at point and midwicket in one-day cricket in all through his career. You see him now standing in mid-on and mid-off. It's not that he has lost his fielding ability suddenly. It's just that his injuries are hampering his movements on the field. I think this is good for him. We want to see those brilliant stops at point, outstanding run outs that Yuvraj is capable of," he had said.

Hope that Yuvraj heeds to his former captain's words and scripts a fantastic return to the team.

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Ganguly backs Brazil

Sourav Ganguly's love for football is no secret and the former India captain will root for Brazil in the FIFA World Cup. "It's the biggest sporting extravaganza and I am really looking forward to watching the World Cup. I will see the semifinals and final," Ganguly told reporters on the sidelines of a programme.

Though an avid Brazilian supporter, Ganguly said England side too stand a good chance to win the Cup since their last triumph in 1966.

"England too have a bright chance this time since their Cup victory in 1966. Argentina and Spain are equally good. It will be really competitive," Ganguly, who had initially taken up football before switching to cricket, said.

Asked about his favourite players, Ganguly named Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka Didier, Drogba and Rio Fredinand.

"I can stay awake the whole night watching them. They are too good."

On the raging controversy over BCCI's decision not to send national cricket team to the Asian Games, Ganguly said, "I am sure they would have given thought before taking such a decision."

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