First Forward :

 

Dungarpur sympathizes Sourav

Raj Singh Dungarpur, manager of the Indian cricket team to Pakistan, and well known for his tongue in cheek comment on Sourav  now comments that he " feels sorry" for the former Indian captain.

"Maybe, he will play for India, but he would have to do something remarkable to make a comeback. It is very easy to be in the team, but very difficult to make a comeback ," Dungarpur opined. After a long time Dungarpur is sounding sensible.

He accused the media for blowing controversies out of proportion.

"Media persons never seem to be able to get over the Ganguly issue and they rake it up time and again. Too much has been said and written about it ," his realization!

 

 

 

 

 

 

East zone again defeated –lack lustrous Sourav!

 

North Zone clinched coveted domestic cup the Deodhar Trophy after defeating the last years' defending champion East Zone by 52 runs by VJD method after bad light in the last league encounter of the limited over cricket tournament.
Chasing a huge target of 284 of North zone, East was left in early quagmire when Sourav Ganguly was dismissed for a first ball duck and the rest of the East batsmen failed to challenge the revised total of North. Sourav's lean patch in Deodhar trophy continues since this is second successive poor batting performance after his previous score of 17 against Central zone.
Mithun Minhas with his second consecutive tons of 105 and Reetinder Singh Sodhi's unbeaten 108 to gave North enough impetus for big score of 284. East, out of the reckoning, were 146 for six in 30.4 overs when play was called off and were found 52 short of the par score of 198...
North bagged five points including two bonus points, which pushed their tally from nine to 14 and put them on top of the table in the final analysis.
Brief scores: North Zone 284/3 (M Minhas 105, RS Sodi 108 n.o.) East Zone 146/6. North Zone won by 52 runs.

 

 

 

Sourav declines invitation for attending Mohali test.

 

Dejected and embarrassed Sourav Ganguly after his poor form in Deodhar trophy has decided not to attend Mohali to watch the ongoing second Test against England .previously there was lot of speculation of Sourav's arrival at Mohali and waiting the match in presence of Selection committee chief, Kiran More.

Earlier when Bindra, the be-all–and-end-all of The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) had invited all former India captains including Sourav Ganguly, who accepted it and said he would reach Mohali after the Deodhar Trophy that ended Thursday.

But after Ganguly, was bowled for duck against North Zone, he called up one of the top officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and said that he wanted to go home and would not be able to go to Mohali. Sourav was in poor form with bat and East Zone lost the Deodhar Trophy to North Zone with the 52-run defeat.

Sourav was enough embarrassed to call Bindra who generally keeps the former in good book and hence instead of calling Bindra ,called up Lalit Modi , BCCI vice-president ,to say that he would prefer to get home quickly and relax - and apologised for the change of plan

 

Punish Chappell: Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB)

Anything less than severe punishments to Chappell on his unprecedented unparliamentarily comment on Sourav Ganguly is just not accepted to CAB. They are all set to take up the issue of Greg Chappell's comments against Sourav Ganguly in a British daily  very seriously   since they believe that the image of BCCI has also been tarnished by such interview. They also feel that BCCI's reaction is "mild advice" to Chappell.

CAB president Jagmohan Dalmiya demands stringent action in no time. The action should be in line with if one were to go by the CAB's argument, ranges from " severe reprimand, to a fine of Rs 1 lakh, to suspension as coach".

The CAB, will send a "formal intimation" to the Board by tomorrow, and is highlighting Clause 3.9.2 of the Regulations, which says that no team official (Chappell, in this case) can comment on a player (read Ganguly) until his retirement.

BCCI warns Chappell

Taking exception to Greg Chappell's controversial remarks against former skipper Saurav Ganguly, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took finally a stand and issued on Friday a strong warning to the Team India coach against making any such statements in future.

''The coach's remarks against Ganguly are totally unwarranted for. He should confine his comments to the Indian team's performance,'' BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said.
Shah accepted that after Chappell's interview got published in a British daily''He was very disturbed.''

Ganguly registered his complaint with him on Wednesday night.
  ''I spoke to board president Sharad Pawar and we decided to issue a warning to Mr Chappell in writing.''—Shah continued.

 The BCCI secretary expected: ''we hope he will not repeat this sort of controversial remarks in future and will confine to performance of the Indian team.''

Chappell –Sourav in Loksabha again!

Sourav Ganguly is back in Lok sabha again!

Indian cricket coach Greg Chappell's controversial remarks against former captain Sourav Ganguly in a foreign journal created hue and cry again in the Lok Sabha today with a CPI-M member demanding an apology from the Australian. Raising the issue during the zero hour, Minoti Sen, an MP from West Bengal , said that if Chappell failed to apologise for the comments he made about Ganguly in the British newspaper 'Guardian', BCCI should terminate his contract and ask him to leave the country. Sen argued that that the remarks against India 's most successful captain were in "bad taste" and crossed all limits of decency.

Sourav skips Deodhar opener

 

In a faxed message to the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), Sourav said he would not be available for East Zone's tournament opener against South Zone and the second game opposite West Zone on February 28.

Crest fallen Sourav is going through a tough time once he was  controversially announced dropped from Nagpur test against England on march 1 , 2006. It logically follows that he has personal problems.

Sourav, in his faxed message, however, said he would play in East Zone's next two matches of the tournament. East Zone clash with Central Zone on March 6 before wrapping up their engagements opposite North Zone on March 9.

Sourav would play in the the subsequent Ranji Trophy knock-out phase in Uttar Pradesh.

Sourav  said in his fax  message that he would turn out for Bengal in the national leg of the Ranji Trophy one day tourney to be played in Lucknow and Kanpur .

 

 Meanwhile, the BCCI for once has softened its stand towards the left-hander when it comes to the issue of serving domestic duty! In a remarkable change in stance barely a month after officially directing the player to play domestic matches, the Board has now left it to the CAB to tackle!

Interesting!  After all, now 'Operation Sourav 'is successful .So let's be soft on him .Let allow him in domestic cricket and mar his return in International cricket. That's the mentality of BCCI officials and selectors at present.

Sourav ready to open for Bengal in Ranji ODI

 After being ignored for the India-Pakistan one-dayers, Sourav Ganguly is now gearing up to get into the thick of the domestic action ahead of England's tour of India this March-April.Sourav  made himself available for the Ranji Trophy one-dayers beginning now and indicated to the CAB that he would open the innings for Bengal in the East Zone one-dayers that will be played in Jamadoba, near Dhanbad, from February 11 to 19 .

SC rejects early hearing plea on Ganguly's exclusion
The Supreme Court has refused to entertain the application for early hearing of the petition challenging the exclusion of former skipper Sourav Ganguly from the Indian cricket team for the ODI series against Pakistan.

The petitioner has sought directions to the BCCI Selection Committee to place before the court the minutes of the selection committee meeting which picked the Indian team for the one day series.
The petitioner has also alleged that Ganguly was a victim of board politics and has been dropped from the team on considerations other than merit as he had been doing well both in domestic cricket and had also done well in the recent three-test series against   Pakistan .

A bench comprising Mr Justice G P Mathur and Mr Justice Dalveer Bhandari yesterday declined to fix the petition for early hearing, saying that scientists, doctors, engineers and other professionally qualified persons were not being given due place in the country as  compared to cricketers.  
'' India will not be at the receiving end if it does not play  matches'' the court observed while turning down the plea for early hearing of the writ petition filed by a TV journalist

Pak Tour :

 

Dream start for Karachi test !

Cricket -- a game of glorious uncertainty !
the roller coaster drama reigned on day one of the final Test .
If  Irfan Pathan's record breaking hat-trick in the very first over of the innings and Pakistan  is tottering at 39-6 at one stage , are the beginning of the day and a stupendously  happy surprise for Indian cricket fans then the second half of the day goes to an  exceptionally brave rearguard come back by wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal who scored a gritty 113 .Pakistan managed to notch up a respectable first innings score of 245. at the National Stadium in karachi.
More drama followed in the last session, with Pakistani bowlers hitting back by snapping 4 of the top Indian wickets for 74 runs in a torrid 99 minute session which made even master blaster  Sachin quite vulnerable in front of Akhtar bombers ! India's top four bats -Sachin , Rahul , Laxman and Sehwag went back to pavilian .
Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh were holding fort for India with nine and seven respectively at the closing of day one .

 

 

Controversially dethroned Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, who has consistently been dogged by controversy, says he doesn't have to prove to the world that he can play and is confident of succeeding.

"I don't have to prove to the world I can play. I will go out and give it my best shot. I am confident I will succeed. But even if I don't it won't be the end of my life," Ganguly was quoted by media as saying.

"I am not an insecure man. I am not dependent on cricket for my life. If I fail I will think of something else," Sourav added.

Indian captain Rahul Dravid today dodged the 'million dollar question' on whether Sourav Ganguly's name would figure in the team in the first cricket Test starting in Lahore Pakistan on Friday.

Greg already told the media that no sentiment would work in Sourav issue and no special treatment to ex captain.

The Aussie has maintained that India ''will pick the best team and if Ganguly fits into that game plan, then he will play."

Rahul just gave ditto to Chappell's comment: person can't be ahead of team!
He added - "We haven't thought yet about the playing eleven. At present, all the squad members are up for selection. We would wait till we see the wicket and then decide on the matter" Dravid replied back, when asked about the team composition

 

Pawar hats off to Ganguly again

 BCCI supremo Sharad Pawar again backed Sourav Ganguly. Pawar dismissed the allegations that the selection committee was under pressure to include Ganguly in the team for Pakistan. He told to media --''There was no pressure on selectors to pick him (Ganguly) in the team. The selectors felt that Ganguly merited selection,''

Dada Detractor Chandrasekhar sports somersault  at Eden

'Dada detractor', national selector VB Chandrasekhar quite surprisingly took the press by storm when he showered accolades on Sourav Ganguly — something he hates to do.

   Chandrasekhar said "It was heartening to see Ganguly back in rhythm ahead of a big series. His footwork, timing and focus to play a long knock seemed well in place," He was observing the Bengal-Tamil Nadu Ranji Trophy match at the Eden Gardens.
   He was praising all the way for the former Indian skipper, Sorav's aggressive demeanor and attitude with the bat and ball. "He was always positive. The budding cricketers can emulate the kind of passion and pride exhibited in his body language while playing for his state," he opined.
Pointing to impressive five wickets haul of Sourav against Tamil Nadu in Ranji match, he stated: "In a seaming track like this, he is more than a handy bowler. I have always felt that he has under bowled when he was leading India."

 

 

Dravid again expresses full support to Chappell

 

In an interview to media just before going for Pakistan tour , Indian skipper , Rahul Dravid again expressed and extended his strong support  to Greg Chappell by saying "I've not found him domineering at all .Chappell has been more than willing to listen to my ideas and my thoughts and I get a very good say. At the end of the day I think he believes that a captain must get what he wants. In fact, in a lot of ways we do a lot of things in my way."

 

Without naming anyone, Dravid also opined what type of players he did not want in the side. "You don't want people whose own insecurities, whose own problems and whose own fears drag everyone else down. That can be a big dampener in teams," he said. Is he trading into again a sensitive zone?  Because the last statement can raise again a lot of hullabaloo as he points finger towards a particular man we all know.

 Just few days back Sachin took side of Sourav and praised on him to Pawar for his fighting spirit and involvement with the team. Rahul's statement can further open a fresh round of controversy just before Pakistan tour. Are we going to witness a Sachin-Sourav vs. Dravid-Chappell slugfest in near future?

 

Annus Horribilis –2005 !

 

Life came full circle for Sourav Ganguly this year as one of the most controversial cricketers in 2005, he rode an unprecedented sympathy wave to force his way back to Team India. A of roller coaster year, he will remember for ever!

Zimbabwe tour cost Ganguly his captaincy and place in the side, despite leading the team to a 2-0 win against Zimbabwe -- India's first series win outside the continent since 1986. Came then infamous e mail issue . Subsequently, Ganguly was chucked out of the ODI series against Sri Lanka before picked for the first two Test matches against Sri Lanka .Back in Delhi test , he played twin 40-odd knocks to help the side see through couple of torrid sessions. Dravid praised his knocks, selectors dropped Ganguly from the third test at Ahmedabad!

The issue snowballed into a national outrage and unprecedented magnitude of reaction from Kolkata and rest of India backed it. After a lot of hullabaloo , Pawar play repatriated Ganguly to tour Pakistan . Saga of controversy goes on.

 

 

Ganguly starts practice at Eden

 

Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly started practice with his teammates at Kolkata's Eden Gardens for the forthcoming Indian cricket team's tour of Pakistan.

The Indian team will leave for Pakistan on January 5 and will play three Tests and five one-day games during their month-and-half-long visit there. Though Ganguly will join with the team on 7 ^th of Jan after playing Ranji match against Tamilnadu at Eden, kolkata.

 

 

BCCI forces Sourav to play Ranji

 

The BCCI has asked Sourav Ganguly and three other players---- Anil Kumble, Parthiv Patel and Virender Sehwag   to make themselves available for the next round of Ranji Trophy games beginning on January 3.
 These four players including Ganguly will therefore miss the tour game in Pakistan.
The rest of the team will leave on January 5 while these players will leave on January 7.

Don't you feel that instead of playing in home soil it is better to play practice match in Pak-soil? It could have been  given enough opportunity to get accustomed to Pak –ambiance quickly.

 

 

Ganguly replies to More's query , satisfies BCCI

Sourav Ganguly  told the Indian Cricket Board that he missed the Ranji Trophy match against Gujarat due to 'family reasons' and the BCCI has decided not to pursue the matter further . He did so in a letter to the Board, in response to Chairman of Selectors Kiran More's query, as to why the former skipper opted out of the Surat tie. BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah said on Tuesday that the Board was satisfied with the cricketer's reply.

'Ganguly fiasco may prove costly to India' –Warns Moin Khan

 

One more addition to the list of Sourav sympathizers, with the latest entry of former Pakistan captain and wicket keeper --Moin Khan.

Calling the whole Sourav episode ''unfortunate'' for Indian cricket, he opined that the deposed Indian captain got a raw deal and cautioned that the incident could have bearing on India's chances in the upcoming series .