Sreesanth's omission surprises Ganguly !!

Kolkata : With the selectors opting for a spin-oriented side for the World Cup, former India captain Sourav Ganguly today said he was surprised to see in-form pacer S Sreesanth overlooked from the 15-man squad.

Ganguly termed it a gamble to pick only one wicketkeeper in skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the extravaganza that will continue in the subcontinent for about 40 days.

The selectors picked the World Cup squad in Chennai on Monday as they chose to include four medium pacers in Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel, while for the wicketkeeper's slot they picked only Dhoni while ignoring Parthiv Patel, Dinesh Karthik and Wriddhiman Saha.

"It was a gamble by the selectors to pick one wicketkeeper in Dhoni. If he picks up an injury during the World Cup and is unable to keep, then who will stand behind the wicket?" Ganguly wondered questioning the selectors' decision.

The IPL discard also criticised the decision to ignore Sreesanth who had a memorable Test series in South Africa.

"It's really surprising to see Sreesanth out of the side despite his recent form and performance," he said here.

The exclusion of middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma also raised a few questions but Ganguly said the decision did not surprise him.

"He (Sharma) is a talented player. But it seems after getting enough chances he failed to gain the selectors' confidence. You have to perform at top level to get noticed. But he got many chances unlike many other talented youngsters but failed to impress."

Asked about the big hitting Yusuf Pathan's selection for the allrounder's spot, Ganguly said: "I don't think he has already proved himself. However, he is the best possible choice we have right now."

Recalling his knock against New Zealand in the Bangalore turnaround, Ganguly said: "Yusuf can be a match winner. When he gets going, he can win any match single handedly. He is a very useful player in these conditions."

Ganguly, however, refused to pick any favourites to win the World Cup.

"Pressure will always be there. At this level the players are used to this situation. It's difficult to pick any particular team. India, Sri Lanka, Australia, South Africa, England - all these teams are doing well and are the favourites. It is their performance over the 40 days that will count," Ganguly said.

India are clubbed in Group-B in the world Cup along with Bangladesh, England, South Africa, West Indies, Ireland and The Netherlands.

India will play the inaugural match of the World Cup against Bangladesh in Mirpur on February 19.

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I'm still hungry to play : Dada

Sourav Ganguly expressed his desire to carry on playing despite not being picked by any of the Indian Premier League teams.

"Yes, I still have the fire inside me. I still have the hunger to play," he said during a function at Ballygunge Govt High School yesterday evening.

Ganguly faithfuls were out on the streets yet again displaying anger against Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) IPL snub to Kolkata's favourite son. The city witnessed two separate protests against KKR and its owner Shah Rukh Khan yesterday.

The first protest was in the form of a cricket match, where stars from the Bengali film industry (Tollywood) played with black arm bands and waving a 'no Dada no KKR' banner.

Tollywood actors played a cricket match in protest against KKR's IPL snub to Sourav Ganguly yesterday.

Leading Tollywood star Jishu Sengupta was part of the protest. "Dada is in our heart. We can't imagine an IPL without him, let alone KKR," Sengupta told MiD DAY.

Leading Bengali actor Dev said: "We can't believe Dada is not picked, especially after last year's performance.

It's really very sad." Kaustav Roy, owner of I-League side Chirag United football club made it clear that he would be boycotting KKR's games at the Eden Gardens this season. "We don't want to go to Eden Gardens. We will boycott IPL," he told MiD DAY, as Ganguly supporters kept shouting, "no Dada, no KKR, no IPL." The second protest had about 400 young people walking down the streets in a silent candle march. The march was initiated by Ganguly fans through couple of social networking sites.

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Thank God, Ganguly will never be a boot-licker - Gavaskar

The Tests may b e over in Australia and South Africa, but Pakistan are playing New Zealand in a Test series even as their former skipper and two outstanding new ball bowlers are being examined by the ICC for bringing the game into disrepute by their actions last year in England.

The decision on them has now been postponed which is a bit hard since not just the players under the scanner but also all in world cricket want the issue to be decided and not dragged on as the World Cup gets nearer.

Nobody wants the World Cup to be under any doubt and hence its important that a decision be arrived at quickly.

In India, the auction for the IPL generated much surprise with some big name players going unsold.

While it is understandable that Brian Lara who has been retired for a few years was not picked by anybody, it was a huge surprise that Chris Gayle, the devastating batsman from West Indies, wasn’t grabbed by any team.

He is the kind of batsman who can change the game in a matter of overs so it really was a shocker that nobody thought it fit to pick him.

There is of course the Test schedule of all teams to be considered so that players picked are

available for as many matches as possible and maybe that’s why Gayle found himself on the sidelines.

What was even more disappointing was that nobody went for Sourav Ganguly either. Here is a player who has brought glory to India as skipper as also with his batting and sometimes with his bowling too and nobody bids for him even at his base price !

Yes, Ganguly can evoke contrasting emotions in people but surely at his base price he was a bargain. What it tells you is that in Indian cricket you are wanted only as long as you are useful to somebody but if not, then all your earlier performances don’t matter. The other option is to be a boot licker of those who matter and Ganguly, thank God, will never be that.

Back to the cricket and New Zealand’s performance goes from bad to terrible and what is even worse is that now they have no excuse whatsoever since they are playing at home.

They have always been a team that has been overrated by its media and former players, who even while they are pointing fingers at other countries forget that three fingers are pointing back at them at the same time.

The new look Pakistan team kept its cool and with Abdur Rehman getting the ball to turn appreciably, they were able to spin out New Zealand in both innings and get a good win.

The Australians continue their bad patch with a last ball loss in the T20 game to World Champions England and South Africa after their defeat to India in the same format have walloped India in the first one-dayer.

It all points out to an exciting week ahead as those teams that have lost try to come back in the series but for this week it is Abdur Rehman the left-handed spinner from Pakistan who is the CEAT International Cricketer of the Week. PMG

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Sourav Ganguly breaks his silence over IPL snub

KOLKATA: Breaking his silence after being ignored in the IPL auction, Sourav Ganguly on Saturday said he never did politics and was always transparent in what he did as a cricketer.

Indirectly taking a dig at the IPL snub during a programme, Ganguly said: "I never did politics. I would not have been here if I did politics. With my practical experiences I say whatever you do, you will not be at the top all the time.

So when you are at the top, be transparent. The rule is same for all, be it in politics or sport. As a leader you must tell the truth. They might not like it but it's important to be clear with your colleagues," Ganguly said.

Having retired from international cricket, Ganguly continued playing in the IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders in the first three seasons but none of the 10 franchises showed any interest in the city's favourite son who now finds his cricketing career come to an abrupt end.

But the 38-year-old former captain insisted that there was no age for retirement.

"As long as you perform, age is not a bar for retirement," he said.

Referring to Indian cricket's Big Three - Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman - who are in the fag-end of their career, Ganguly said the selectors should be careful to avoid an Australia-like crisis.

"Look at the Australians. In one series it was Hayden, Langer, Gilchrist, Warne and McGrath. That's too much of a void to fill so quickly," Ganguly said.

Ganguly said the magnificent trio should retire in phases.

"I don't see them retiring very soon as long as they keep performing. But the selectors have to remember one thing that they make sure that they don't finish together, so there will be a lot of void."

"So the selectors have to be careful to make sure that they go one at a time and not all together so that you get in the replacements and get them ready.

"Also it's important to get in the replacements in a home series so that they go to an overseas tour with runs and confidence behind them."

"You saw Cheteshwar Pujara in the Test series in South Africa. He struggled a bit but it was difficult condition to bat in there as well. So it's important that they go in phases."

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Ganguly is a victim of politics : WB minister

Former Team India captain Sourav Ganguly who found no takers at the recent IPL IV auction, was a victim of "dirty politics", a West Bengal minister said on Thursday.

"Dirty politics was played by the private players during the two-day IPL player auction in Bangalore recently," Urban Development Minister Asok Bhattacharya alleged.

"It's most unfair for a player of Sourav's stature. Throughout his career he had been a victim of conspiracy, otherwise he could have turned up for another couple of years for the country," the minister said.

"Has dada, my most favourite cricketer, not been the most successful Indian cricket captain till date?" the minister, who enjoys personal rapport with the former Kolkata Knight Riders icon, asked.

Ganguly, who captained KKR in the inaugural and 2009 season, was completely ignored in two rounds of players' auction for the fourth edition that started on April 8.

KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan on Wednesday said leaving out Ganguly from the team was a decision taken by the "cricketing brains" of the franchise and not by him.

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Kolkatta To March For Dada !!

Kolkata, Jan 14 (IBNS) Kolkata rallies behind its own Sourav Ganguly once again after the days of Greg Chappell, ready to hit the street voicing protest against his exclusion from Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.

'No Dada No KKR'--is the slogan of the protesters as a member-group of popular social networking site facebook will organise a protest march against the recent 'injustice' inflicted on the former captain of India and Kolkata Knoght Riders, who has not been picked up by any of the IPL franchises, including KKR, for the upcoming season 4.

“The objective of this group is to protest against all the injustice against Saurav Ganguly in the recent developments in the IPL4 auction,” Kaushik Dey, a member of the ‘No Dada No KKR’ said.

The candle light march will be taken out from Queen’s gate in Victoria Memorial to the Eden Gardens.

“We have decided unanimously to take this one step further by organising a silent protest march at 5 pm on Sunday, Jan 16, from Victoria Memorial to the Eden Gardens,” he said.

He also informed that another group from Orkut, named ‘No Ganguly…No Eden’, which has 3300+ members, will join the silent protest march.

The ‘No Dada No KKR’ group has 2500 members from all over the nation at present.

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When I Finally saw Ganguly - Prasad sanyal (NDTV)

I remember staying up to watch Ganguly get a century at Lord's on debut - the summer of 1996, I'd been in Kolkata for four years, and yet with all my 'non-Bengali' friends at school, reading Hindi, and still being a bit of a Delhi-wallah (where I grew up and went to school for almost a decade) I did not carry the burden of the entire 'Bengali nation' on my shoulders.

I cheered for India - and remember feeling terrible as Rahul Dravid got out at 95. Sourav Ganguly, the first Bengali cricketer of note after perhaps Pankaj Roy, meanwhile, got his century - 131 he made before being bowled by Alan Mullaly, an English left-arm seamer who'd played much of his cricket in Australia.

India drew the match - and the next one at Nottingham, where Dada got another century. Good going, I thought... but that was about all. Dada wasn't still to die for. So the guy had a good outing in England!

I sat up next year - Sahara Cup... Sourav was the only player playing the tournament it seemed, with bat, with ball, he could do nothing wrong... Match-fixing and Sachin's poor run as a captain meant Sourav was in the driver's seat by 2000. He'd played many a memorable innings, started opening in the shorter format - forming a successful partnership with Sachin, helped India chase a 300-plus score against Pakistan...

One innings that stood out was a 183 in the 1999 World Cup.

I was part of the audience at a TV show hosted by Dr Prannoy Roy at the Science City in Kolkata. Before the show, the large monitor was switched on to the match being broadcast live from Taunton, Dravid and Ganguly were smashing the Lankans all over the ball park. Everyone was hooked on. Dr Roy walked in, saw how things stood, and joined us in watching the match - the recording for the show started over 2 hours behind schedule, after India finished their innings (having worked in TV for many years now, I know just how big a decision it is the postpone a shoot, or better still hold it up).

I appreciated but still did not see. It was as if Ganguly had a job to do and he was doing it well. Captaincy, batting, whatever...

All that changed on a Sunday morning in 2003. I'd woken up to see if the Indian openers would survive the chin music in Gabba - and I wasn't exactly disappointed. Sehwag got a breezy 40-odd and Akash Chopra survived well over a 100 balls for some 30-odd... And then an Indian collapse... In a space of 2-3 overs Sehwag, Tendulkar and Dravid back in the hut...

I'd seen this often - in the 1990s India won at home but not abroad. This was Australia...India was going down under... And then I saw Ganguly.

In was one of the finest counter-attacks by an Indian team (ranks right up there with Laxman's 281 in Kolkata). In cavalier fashion, Dada got 144 - ably supported by Laxman, India's often unsung hero in away-Tests and Parthiv Patel, who hasn't been finding favour with the selectors ever since Dhoni arrived. Dada ensured India overtook Australia's 1st innings total - it was the 1st Test of the series, and that set the tone for the Tests to follow. Granted that both Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath were both missing - but that Sunday at the Gabba, it was as if Gillespie, Braken and Co. has challenged Sourav Ganguly's manhood - he was a man possessed, riding his luck - and with him rode the nation - and I.

That's the day I saw Sourav Ganguly - that's perhaps the day the probashi in in me turned madly Bengali... But is Sourav just a Bengali obsession? Is cricket a Bengali sport? Can Sourav Ganguly's contribution to Indian cricket be so overlooked?

We aren't a nation which respects its heroes- Dada'ism' is the philosophy by which the Dhonis of the world live... Is it fair to judge him because no one thought it fit to pick him for an IPL squad?

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Whatmore Refuses to Comment on Ganguly's Exclusion !!

Kolkata Knight Riders coach Dav Whatmore chose not to speak on Sourav Ganguly being snubbed at the IPL auction but the burly Australian is happy with the set of players his franchise has picked for the next edition of the Twenty20 event.

When his reaction was sought on the snub given to Ganguly during the auction in Bangalore, Whatmore said, "I have my personal views but I would like them to remain with me."

Ganguly, who was the leading run-scorer for KKR last year, did not find any buyer at his base price of USD 400,000.

The former India skipper did not even get a second look when 28 unsold players were brought back in the pool on day two of the auction.

KKR signed up Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan and Jacques Kallis offering them hefty pay cheques and Whatmore said it was important that stars performed.

"All the teams have great stars but we have to try and turn these into good and consistent performances," Whatmore, who coached Sri Lanka to World Cup glory in 1996.

We are very happy with the players we got and the team we have as of now. Everything went very well for us during the auctions and we are thankful for the line up we have," he added.

The fourth edition of the Indian Premier League will begin on April 8.

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Sourav Ganguly unaffected by IPL snub: brother Snehashish

Former Kolkata Knightriders captain Sourav Ganguly who has been spurned by his team as they didn't bid for him the player auction for Indian Premier League, is mum about the snubbing. But those close to him aren't, especially his elder brother Snehashish, who expressed his outrage at the development.

After all, Sourav has been India's most successful captain and was the third highest scorer in last year's League. But Snehashish, himself once a reputed first class cricketer, said his brother has been unaffected by the developments.

"He is ok. I spent the entire day with him Sunday. He is fine. After having played so much cricket, such things don't bother a person of his stature," Snehashish said.

On Monday, Ganguly was seen in a relaxed mood, playing volleyball with daughter Sana in the courtyard of his majestic residence at Behala in the city's southern edge.

Snehashish said Kolkata Knight Riders has made a 'mistake' by giving Sourav the brush off as a Sourav-Gautam Gambhir opening combination would have been highly effective in the coming tournament.

"I am bewildered, surprised, sad. I have been thinking about this for the last 24 hours. When Sourav's contemporaries like Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman can fetch good money, and many lesser known players are lapped up by teams, how come no one raised any bid for him," Snehasish asked while speaking to IANS.

"Moreover, new teams like Pune Warriors and Kochi could have benefited from Sourav's rich experience as a batsman, bowler and captain,' he said. Kolkata Knight Riders have made a mistake; Rs.1.86 crore is no money when you take into account Sourav's stature, talent and experience. So they missed the chance to get him cheap," said Snehashish.

It is clear that Sneha-ashish minced no words at expressing that Ganguly's exclusion is the KKR's loss and the team will be bound to feel is absence tremendously.

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Thackeray slams SRK for ignoring Ganguly !!!

Shiv Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray has launched a fresh attack on actor Shah Rukh Khan, this time over the omission of former captain Sourav Ganguly from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team.

Labelling Khan as an opportunist, Thackeray lashed out at Khan for using the former Indian skipper's fame in his heydays and dumping him after extracting the goodwill.

In the afternoon edition of his party mouthpiece Saamna, Thackeray came down heavily on the KKR co-owner.

Taunting him for his overt affection for Pakistani players when they were left out in the last season, Thackeray said that the same SRK has now humiliated Ganguly by not bidding for him.

Thackeray again labelled Khan as a traitor in the article.

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DAda's exclusion not purely on cricketing Basis !!

Sourav Ganguly's omission from the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League is not "purely on cricketing basis", says former India captain Kapil Dev.

In what turned out to be one of the major embarrassments in his chequered career, India's most successful cricket captain Ganguly was left red-faced as none of the 10 franchises put his name up in the wish list after both rounds of auctions that concluded in Bangalore on Sunday.

"Lot of other reasons are there. I don't think merely on cricketing basis, he is not there. It's not on purely cricketing basis (his exclusion)," said Kapil.

"I always felt that Ganguly should be the captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders otherwise he shouls not be playing. Because of his nature, commitment, determination and the way he works with the team or what he did to the Indian team, this all makes a lot of difference," the 1983 World cup winning captain Kapil told a news channel.

There was every reason that the fourth highest scorer in last year's league felt insulted as he had prolonged his cricketing career only to play in the IPL. With franchises turning their backs on him, it was certainly one of the most ignominious ends for the Prince of Kolkata.

And Kapil said without Ganguly, KKR will lose its fan following.

"Without Sourav, KKR is nothing. A lot of time confusion was there whether he should be playing as a player or leading the side as the captain. If I was there, I had said lead the side to best of your abilities otherwise just say goodbye to cricket.

"Franchises thought we have given him chance for three years, it's time to say him goodbye. But I think lot of other reasons are there," said Kapil.

In Durban, Kolkata Knight Riders' co-owner and Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan today said he would try and find a role for Ganguly, who led the KKR in the last edition.

"I would love it, I would love Sourav to be an integral part. You don't have a team in Kolkata without him. So, I will speak to Dada when I get back," Shah Rukh said.

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I feel sorry for Sourav Ganguly: Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble has said that he felt sorry for a few seniors like Sourav Ganguly and Brian Lara who remained unsold.

“It is sad but that’s the reality, I think,” the former India captain, currently the chief-decision maker of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, said. “The situation is such that the franchises are looking at three years and not one year. So I don’t know what to say but I think that is the new reality.”

The Royal Challengers did not make a bid for Rahul Dravid, their former captain and an icon. “It is difficult to explain why we have bid for some players and why we did not bid for some. There are a lot of factions taken into account. Besides, in the sequence of events at the auction, some players get picked for high price and some don’t get picked. And some more are not bid.”

When specifically asked how the Royal Challengers have decided to spend on a player like Cheteshwar Pujara, not exactly known to be a big-hitter, the former team captain, said the young Saurashtra batsman benefitted from the sequence. “We need to have some young Indian batsman and so we made a bid for him.” On Dravid, he once again cited the example of sequence.

Kumble was seen giving constant advices to team owner Vijay Mallya but he did not see it as a major contribution from his side. “Everyone has come with preparations. My duty is to share my expertise, experience and opinion with him. It is up to them to accept it or not.” On his role with the team, he said it would be in the advisory capacity. He, however, clarified that he would not be the team coach.

So going by the developments of the day, did he think that he did right by pulling out of the auction? He shot back: “I did not pull out of the auction because of the fear of being not picked. I have a lot of other commitments. I’ve my administration with the Karnataka State Cricket Association (for which he is the president), I have my academy, I have my wildlife work. I have my plate full.”

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Sourav Ganguly Goes Unsold at the Indian Political League

Sourav Ganguly, undoubtedly the most controversial man of Indian cricket, goes unsold at the first day auction for IPL 4 being held at the ITC Royal Gardenia. His home team, Kolkata Knight Riders kept their heads down, expressing their lack of interest for the man who top-scored for KKR last season with 493 runs in 14 matches at 37.92 with a strike rate of 117.66. He was also the 4th highest run-getter in IPL 2010.

Ganguly was initially placed in the $ 200,000 price bracket, but he later increased his base price to $ 400,000. Before the auction, Sahara-owned Pune Warriors was heard to be buying him at a base price, but it seems they may have changed their mind after Ganguly hiked the price. But, most of people back here in Kolkata are sniffing foul play into the incident.

Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders may have built a good team by winning over Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan and Jacques Kallis, but Kolkatans are all depressed because of the omission of their favorite son, Ganguly whom the entire country fondly calls 'dada'. Shah Rukh Khan seems to have hurt the Bengalis where it matters most - emotions. Will SRK be able to get the spirited support from KKR's home fans? Absolutely No.. :X :X :X

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Ganguly wants to play for Mumbai Indians

Sources close to former India captain Sourav Ganguly have revealed that the stylish left-hander has expressed the desire to play for Mumbai Indians in the coming Indian Premier League season.

Ganguly is hoping MI buy him during the auction to be held over the weekend in Bangalore. "Sourav is very disappointed that KKR decided not to retain him. He had never thought that they would let him go. Now, he wants to play in his close friend, Sachin Tendulkar's team.

"Also, he wants to play this IPL with an absolutely free mind, without any responsibilities of captaincy," sources close to Ganguly told MiD DAY.

Meanwhile, KKR's take on Ganguly is not very clear. But it seems highly unlikely that they will make a bid for their former captain, especially after he increased his base price for the auction, moving into the top bracket of players. On the other hand, our sources revealed that, KKR is positive aboutcapturing Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan. They will also push hard for Gautam Gambhir.

Will Ganguly re-unite with former India teammate Tendulkar? Will MI make Dada's wish come true? Over to the auction now.

SOURCE : MId-DAY

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Jeet to face Sourav Ganguly

Jeet, the most "Wanted" hero of Tollywood, will be facing Sourav Ganguly's googlys with full "Josh" today on the sets of " Dadagiri Unlimited".

"I haven't meet Dada for a long time. So, I'm really looking forward to meeting him. I share a warm and wonderful relationship with the directorial and the technical team of "DU" as I have worked with them earlier for "Star Of Bengal" and "Katha-O-Kahini". So, it's a kind of get-together for me," Jeet insists. Director of the show, Subhankar Chattopadhyay, says, "We will be shooting a special episode with Jeet today. We are honoured that he could manage time from his busy schedule to be our guest."

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" ‎The Warrior Prince " - Documentary on Dada !!

A documentary on our Dada is gettin ready !

-->It is titled "The Warrior Prince ",it runs for about 90 min ,has rare footages of dada from his childhood till retirement.Its in d final stage of it's making.

-->It has special msgs from sachin ,dravid ,steve waugh !! It'll be Released this feb !!
BigB is expected to narrate the docu !

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