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Former captain Sourav Ganguly Sunday hailed the decision of the national selectors to bring Rahul Dravid back to the Indian side and said it only proved that form, and not age, is a factor in the game.

“Taking back Dravid is the right decision. I hope he will play well,” Sourav told mediapersons at the Eden Gardens.

“This proves that in the national team it does not matter whether you are a junior or a senior. What is important is form. Ashish Nehra has been brought back. Dravid is back. So, this goes on to show that age is not a factor,” Sourav said.

Sourav had retired from the game about nine months back amidst speculation that the Board of Control for cricket in India (BCCI) had forced him to hang up his gloves.

In the run-up to Ganguly’s retirement, there was a buzz in cricketing circles about the BCCI being in favour of the old guard – Ganguly, Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman and Anil Kumble – making way for the juniors.

But though Ganguly and Kumble have quit, Laxman, Dravid and Tendulkar are still going strong.

However, the lefthander, six months senior to Dravid in age, refused to take a question on whether he could also have served the team well had he not retired.

“Look, I don’t want to delve into this thing. I don’t want to think of the past. I have retired nine months back,” he said.

When Agras Pawan Sharma sneaked into a general compartment of a Howrah-bound train last Thursday, he had only one thing on his mind to meet his idol Sourav Ganguly and persuade the former captain to give him a chance to bowl in the Knight Riders nets.
On Thursday, Sourav gave the 19-year-old a chance to realize his dream. Trying to emulate his favourite bowler, Shoaib Akhtar, Pawan belied his wiry frame and worked up a fair bit of pace troubling most KR batsmen even as Sourav kept a close watch.
So impressed was Sourav with the lads display that he asked Pawan to postpone his trip back home and report at the nets again on Friday.
Needless to say, Pawan, who has been roughing it out in Kolkata for the past few days, is elated. I was planning to go back by todays (Thursday) evening train, but Dada asked me to stay back and attend Fridays nets. I dont know whether I will ever make it big, but I will forever remain indebted to Dada for this chance, said Pawan, who read about KRs camp in newspapers and decided to try his luck.
After arriving in Kolkata, I parked myself in front of Dadas residence everyday from 10am to 6pm but the security guards didnt let me speak to him. On Tuesday, I gathered enough courage to call out his name loud enough to catch his attention and he stopped his car. After hearing me out, he told me to come to the Eden Gardens on Thursday, said Pawan, about his adventure so far.
Even though Pawan impressed all with his ability to bowl fast, he has been given no guarantees. He, however, has no regrets. For me, its enough that I could bowl in front of Ganguly and get his blessings. Had he asked me to keep bowling till 6pm, I would have happily done so, Pawan said after a gruelling two-hour session.
Given a bit of luck, the Class IX drop-out could well turn out to be yet another IPL wonder kid. Pawan, meanwhile, is keeping his fingers crossed.

The icon status of Indias most cher ished cricketers will soon come to an end. From 2010 onwards, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh, who enjoyed this special status the inaugural two seasons, will be like any oth er player in the Indian Premier League (IPL) In the original plan itself, icon status was only for two years. That time IPL was a new concept and we wanted to build a strong base for teams. But it is not mandatory to keep these players after the next season, IPL commis sioner Lalit Modi said here on Tuesday. They can be traded or other teams can bid for them in the fresh auctions after the 2010 season. They will not be icon players anymore, he added.
Abolishing the icons tag would mean that these players no more stand to earn 15% more than the highest-earning player from his fran chise. The fees will be at the discretion of the franchise. This was among the many decisions taken during the IPL governing council meet ing held in Mumbai on Tuesday.
It also decided to add four new venues the IPL tournament, Nagpur, Ahmedabad Dharamsala and Vishakapatnam, which will act as home venues for Mumbai Indians, Team Jaipur, Kings XI and Team Hyderabad re spectively. The franchisees can decide the num ber of matches at these venues. IPL season will be played from March 12-April 25, for which the schedule has already been charted out.
The opening match will be between Team Hyderabad and Knight Riders in Hyderabad while the total number of matches has been increased from 59 to 60, to include a third place play-off after the two semifinals. The schedule has been prepared eight months in advance to help franchisees and sponsors get ready in time for the event, Modi said.
The IPL has also brought a change in strategy (time-out ) breaks that were introduced in 2009. Instead of a seven-and-half minute break per innings (which equals to 15 minutes per game), there will now be two twoand-half minute breaks per innings (equaling to 10 minutes per game). The first break will be called by the bowling captain between the sixth and the tenth over while second by the batsman at the crease between the 11th and 15th over.The IPL has also decided to tweak the NOC rule a bit to deal with players not signing their board contracts in time and missing out on FTP commitments.

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly’s induction into cricket administration will be the lone point of interest in an otherwise routine annual general elections of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) Friday with veteran Jagmohan Dalmiya set to retain his president’s post unchallenged for one more year.

Dalmiya, a former Indian cricket board and International Cricket Council (ICC) president, is set to be elected unchallenged as the dissident group failed to put up any candidate for the elections. Elections will only be held for the posts of vice-presidents while the two joint secretaries and the treasurer will go uncontested.

For the opposition, not puting up a candidate against Dalmiya, was a tactical move, aimed at giving a year’s time to Ganguly to prepare the ground for posing a serious challenge to Dalmiya – a former president of the International Cricket Council and Indian cricket board – in the CAB annual general meeting in 2010.

“Ganguly will represent Mohammedan Sporting in the CAB AGM this year as a club representative. It is too late now for somebody so new to CAB politics to fight against a strong opponent like Dalmiya. We are now looking at 2010,” a leading figure in the opposition camp told IANS, requesting anonymity.

But the opposition will push for Ganguly’s inclusions in one of the committees of the CAB. The CAB’s annual profit of record Rs.149 million will also be discussed during the meeting.

Ganguly’s backer Goutam Dasgupta, former joint secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), told IANS that Ganguly’s expertise should be used by the CAB.

“He should be included in the technical committee or the cricket committee of the CAB. It will be a boost for the game in the state,” he said.

Ganguly had publicly expressed his willingness to enter the Bengal cricket administration. But his backers felt that it was not the right time for him to contest against Dalmiya.

Meanwhile, Dalmiya said it was for Ganguly to decide whether he will involve himself with the CAB. “If he wants to come, he is welcome.”

Dalmiya has held on to the CAB president’s post since 1993 except for a 19-month break from end December 2006 to the middle of last year.

The former BCCI chief had stepped down from the CAB post towards 2006 end after being slapped with a ban by the BCCI then controlled by Sharad Pawar, but returned to power in 2008 by defeating then president Prasun Mukherjee.

The issue of zonal bias in Indian cricket teams selection is back in focus after allrounder Yusuf Pathans comments on Tuesday that his brother Irfan has not been dropped from the Champions Trophy probables list due to non-performance .
In fact, Yusuf s comments came just days after former skipper Sourav Gangulys alleged comments on a TV channel that his career could have been prolonged if he was given a fair chance.
Both Yusuf and Ganguly went on to deny these remarks but the debate has caught on, forcing the selectors and BCCI officials to defend the selection policy.
The Indian cricket board straightaway dismissed the allegation that the selection panel headed by former India captain Krish Srikkanth was given to zonal bias and was giving preference to players from south India.
They are doing a perfect job. How can Yusuf talk about selection policies when his own place is not secure in the playing eleven Even Wasim Zaffer was dropped after having two bad Test matches in Australia. Did he complain a top board official asked. We have paid selectors these days to ensure fairness in team selection, he added.
Srikkanth was at a loss for words when asked to comment. I dont want to comment on this. However, other selectors fumed at Yusuf s comments . If he has said this, its completely wrong. He should check Irfans record first before shooting his mouth. If you look at the team combinations in the recent series against England, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, there were just one or two players in the teams from south or Chennai, one selector insisted.
When reminded that at one time, three cricketers from Chennai S Badrinath, Murali Vijay and L Balaji had made the cut almost simultaneously , BCCI insisted that they were in the Indian team on the virtue of their strong domestic performances last year. A selector revealed that the core policy of the committee has remained unchanged pick players on the basis of their form in the last 25 matches.
If you look at the performances of Irfan Pathan in the last 25 matches, you will be surprised . We dont expect these players to come out with match-winning performances in every match, but they should at least contribute to the teams victory, another selector said.
However, some India players feel that while Irfan may not be eligible for selection, he should have been there in the 30-member probables list for the Champions Trophy. Right now, Irfan is struggling with his rhythm but he should be fine after playing a couple of domestic games and can stage a comeback, said a player.
Another India player pointed out: MS Dhoni doesnt have enough confidence in Irfan to give him full quota of overs in an ODI and that is not a good sign for a bowling allrounder. But we are hoping he will come back with a bang.
A selector put the issue in perspective: We are not out with guns to shoot down cricketers. When we pick the team, we want the best possible combination at that time and if that upsets someone , we cant help much. Irfan made a comeback when Vengsarkar was the chairman of selectors and Dilip is not from Baroda.

YUSUF DENIES REPORT

Yusuf Pathan on Wednesday denied blaming the BCCI for his younger brother Irfans omission from the list of 30 probables for the ICC Champions Trophy during an investiture ceremony in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. In a statement, Yusuf wrote: At the event, amongst other things I was asked to comment on the omission of Irfan Pathan from the Champions Trophy probables, to which I clearly said, It is not for me to comment on selection matters and got up. TOI had reported that an angry Yusuf shot back when asked about his brothers omission, saying: What will I comment It is for you (the media) to comment on what is happening. It was also reported that Yusuf said Irfans performance was up to the mark before he was dropped.

Former India coach John Wright is in line to replace John Buchanan as the new coach of the Knight Riders, according to sources. Wrights name was arrived at after a discussion between Shah Rukh Khan, the coowner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, and former India skipper and KR player Sourav Ganguly, in the UK recently . Both SRK and Ganguly were in England to get their doctorate degrees.
Sources said though Wright was a frontrunner, there are other candidates too in line for the coaching job. The team finished at the bottom of the rung in the second edition of the T20 event, held in South Africa.
There are other names which figured in their discusions. Now its all up to Shah Rukh. He is going to take the final call. Its likely that preference will be given to coaches who have worked in India before and have good knowledge of players and conditions, suggested sources.
The Knight Riders sacked Buchanan last month after poor shows in the last two IPL seasons and the team is desperate for a turnaround in performance in 2010. Others who are in the fray as a possible replacement for the controversial Australian include National Cricket Academy director Dav Whatmore, former India opener WV Raman, former stumper Chandrakant Pandit, manager of the 2007 World T20-winning Indian team Lalchand Rajput, former Pakistan coach Richard Pybus and former India pacer Paras Mhambrey.
But will Wright, who coached India when Ganguly was at the helm, agree to join KR He is willing if the franchise wants him, suggested sources.
Wright is currently attached to New Zealand Cricket while Whatmore is on the payrolls of the BCCI. But there is unlikely to be any conflict of interest should any of them agree to coach KR.

John Buchanan, the former Australia coach,has said India’s ‘Fab Four” batsmen – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman – are not suited to Twenty20 cricket. Buchanan, who worked closely with several Indian players during his stint with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, made these and other observations in his new book, The Future of Cricket: The Rise of Twenty20.

Buchanan was otherwise in praise of Tendulkar – who has opted out of Twenty20 internationals but not the IPL. “Tendulkar has been lauded, and rightly so, as one of the very top batsmen in the history of cricket,” he wrote. “But is he an effective T20 player at this stage of his career?

“In the position he plays – as an opener or No. 3 – the T20 game requires not only the finesse and skills he has, but also the power and domination, an ability to take the bowlers on while being creative. You have to be inventive and fearless. And I don’t see those qualities as part of Sachin’s makeup at this stage of his career. Sachin Tendulkar is still a great player but not in this arena of T20.”

Buchanan had similar views on Tendulkar’s contemporaries, none of whom featured in the ICC World Twenty20 in England.

“Homegrown heroes such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman, were expected to influence, and on some occasions single-handedly win IPL matches,” Buchanan said. “Yet their subdued performances highlight that Test match temperament does not necessarily ensure prolonged success in the T20 game.

“The same could be said about Rahul Dravid. Dravid is a great representative of Indian cricket, a team man, humble, a well-spoken gentleman. But unfortunately he could not score a single run in the early rounds of the IPL, and in my opinion, is not suited to this form of the game. I am certain Dravid’s performances were also affected by the off-field drama created by his franchise owner Vijay Mallya.”

His opinions weren’t restricted to India’s ageing stars. He went on to question Yuvraj Singh’s attitude, though he later clarified that there was no malice involved in his comments.

“Yuvraj Singh in a sense tries to be a modern-day Sourav Ganguly, but I don’t think he has the charisma or the dignity with which Ganguly carries himself,” he said.

However, Buchanan was full of praise for Ganguly, though the pair didn’t have the best of times with Kolkata during the IPL. Buchanan’s multiple-captain theory didn’t go down well with the team at the start of the tournament and a host of off-field and selection issues saw the team finish at the bottom. It also cost Buchanan his job as coach.

Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the University of Lancashire.

The 37-year-old Ganguly said that he was honoured and wants to build better ties with Lancashire.

“It is a huge honour. When I came to know about this a few months ago, I felt proud and I’m happy to be here. I have a long-term association with Lancashire – I had my first one-day international at Old Trafford 13 years ago and had a stint with Lancashire County Cricket Club,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by the Lancashire Evening Post.

“The best thing I remember about Lancashire was in April 2000 when I turned up with the temperature being 10 degrees. I was standing in the slips and couldn’t take my hands out of my pockets as it was so cold.

“Luckily, Michael Atherton asked me to go at mid-on where I put some hand warmers in my pockets and kept myself warm,” he added.

Dharma Kovvuri, university’s acting dean of its management faculty, says the institution wants to build on relations with India after setting up an office in Delhi in 2002.

“It’s a great honour for the university that we have been able to nominate Sourav and it’s great he has accepted. He has been a great ambassador for Indian cricket and as we all know, he has been the most successful Indian cricket captain and for him to accept the award from the university is a great honour for us,” he said.

THE Indian cricket fraternity, at least most of it, is miffed with John Buchanan for airing his views in his new book titled Future of cricket: Rise of Twenty20. From Sunil Gavaskar to Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh, even Sachin Tendulkar, Buchanan has had something to say about all, and most of it has been in poor taste.
Buchanan writing, or rather washing the Indian linen in public, isn’t the first instance among former players or coaches taking such swipes. There have been others too who, either by way of writing a book, biography, diary or even regular columns, have had something controversial to talk about.
Adam Gilchrist’s book, True Colours of My Life, created a stir last year when it criticised the Indian team’s stint during and after the Sydney Test and Sachin Tendulkar’s role as a senior statesman. Former South African cricketers (and current Indian coach) Gary Kirsten and Fannie de Villiers have written diaries and biographies that talk of how difficult it was for them to tour India and bear with the ‘filth’ in this country.
In Out of My Comfort Zone, former Australia captain Steve Waugh slammed Sourav Ganguly for his constant bickering over the nature of pitches and trying to influence groundsmen. “To me, this wasn’t too different to match-fixing,’’ he wrote.
The instances are many and of late, growing at a very rapid pace. When a player or a coach is making his way out of the circuit, there is often an urge to present his point of view that he never could do while being part of the system. It can be spiteful, redeeming, presenting the big picture, players’ point of view, controversial — just about anything.
“It is fair as long as you are not hitting under the belt. As long as you are not getting personal,’’ says former India cricketer Akash Chopra, who authored Beyond the Blues: A Cricket Season Like No Other.
The book was Chopra’s take on the Indian domestic circuit, his struggle at a personal level but largely also an attempt to point out the follies in the domestic circuit with a myopic view of the administration. “There may have been things you felt were wrong or there’s a strong need to raise the point. But it shouldn’t be personal,’’ he stresses.
Former India all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar, whose match-fixing investigation created Indian cricket’s biggest ever controversy, is convinced that “these days books are written with the market in mind’’. He says: “Cricketers like Sachin, Sourav, Rahul, Harbhajan, Yuvraj have a huge following. You write something juicy on them and it is bound to raise a lot of hue and cry. Gilchrist writing on Sachin (2008 Sydney Test) was in absolute poor taste.’’
He further points out why these writers never point out the positives to come out from such greats. It is easy to rile Gavaskar for a couple of things that happened during his playing days, but who is willing to
write on the batsman that he was, wonders Prabhakar. They will not simply because, “that won’t sell’’. Ganguly has maintained his calm over Buchanan’s book saying, “there was no need for him (Buchanan) to do that.’’ Tendulkar did the same, by keeping silent, when Gilchrist’s autobiography came out. Harbhajan has been a little more aggressive on his blog when he writes: “I am not surprised. Anything coming out of Australia does not surprise me anymore. What offends me are the comments on legends like Gavaskar and Tendulkar.’’
However, by and large it is clear that most foreign cricketers or coaches turning writers are looking more at the market than cricket itself while using the pen. Silently, many an Indian stalwart believe that the BCCI is responsible (also IPL now) for giving these foreigners too much rope. “They come here, earn from Indian cricket, and badmouth us,’’ confides one.
One has to still wait and watch when an Indian would find the need to do something similar to sell his product. Until now, nothing of the sort has hit the stands.

India Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has hit back at John Buchanan for taking a filch at some of the Indian cricketing greats, saying he was oriented to being criticised by Australians but surprised at the pan shots Buchanan took at the likes of Sunil Gavaskar.
   In his new book The Future of Cricket: The Rise of Twenty20,
Buchanan has taken filch at some of the big names of Indian cricket including Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, and also industrialist Vijay Mallya.
 Harbhajan, who has a unconvinced record of run-ins with Australians, went on to suggest that it might be a scheme on Buchanan’s part to publicized the book. ‘‘There used to be a time when actions used to speak louder than words but now it’s viceversa. Words draw more awareness that action. At times, I wonder why all these things appear just before the launch of the book. Good luck to them,’’ Harbhajan said.
   ‘‘I read through the comments on an online news portal. The great coach indeed had some great comments to make, just like his great coaching methods,’’ Harbhajan wrote in his blog from UK, where is holidaying with his family. ‘‘I am not surprised at this. In fact, anything coming out of Australia does not surprise me anymore. It just shows how much they love me and keep thinking about me in their minds and hearts.
   ‘‘What surprises me are the well-crafted and framed comments on demonstrated legends like Mr Gavaskar by someone whose coaching credentials were doubted by the approvaled and most respected Aussie legend leg spinner Shane Warne. The coaching credentials were tested again during the IPL this year,” he added.

John Buchanan has countered allegations that he slammed some Indian players in his new book. Buchanan said that the comments were taken “out of context” by the media and that people would have to “read the entire book”. The coach said that he had no hard feelings towards Gavaskar, Yuvraj or Harbhajan. In his book, Buchanan refers to Gavaskar as a person who is blinkered by ‘bias and tradition’.

Kings XI Punjab coach Tom Moody hit back at John Buchanan, saying he has been wrongly quoted by the latter in his recent book.
   “I was surprised to hear that I have been quoted in John Buchanan’s most recent book. I have neither read the book nor been cherished by John about its release with my supposed quotes,’’ Moody said.
   The former Sri Lanka national coach further added that he was rather taken aback by Buchanan’s reference to Kings XI captain Yuvraj Singh. ‘‘I certainly cannot recall any such conversation.
   “I am not in the habit of airing team laundry on such trivial matter,’’ Moody shot back.
   The book has Buchanan saying that Moody told him ‘‘Yuvraj would just walk off after training, leaving all his gear and rubbish behind because he was in the habit of someone else picking up after him.”