The Hindu : Front Page : I am hurt and shocked, says Pawar

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 16, 2005

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I am hurt and shocked, says Pawar

"But no politics was involved in the exclusion of Ganguly from team"

NEW DELHI : Sharad Pawar, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Thursday said he was "hurt and shocked" at the exclusion of the former captain, Sourav Ganguly, from the team for the third Test against Sri Lanka.

"As a cricket lover, I am hurt and shocked over the exclusion of Ganguly. In the Delhi Test, his performance was satisfactory. Also, he was a victorious captain and we feel proud of him,'' Mr. Pawar told reporters here.

However, he brushed aside reports that politics was involved in Ganguly's removal. "Selection of a player is the sole right of the selection committee.... I was told that the decision of the committee not to include Ganguly was unanimous. I have not discussed it with Kiran More or any other member.

"As per the practice, selection is the sole authority of the selection committee and the president or the [other] office-bearers have no right to interfere. But, whenever the team tours abroad, prior approval of the president is required."

Mr. Pawar said the dropping of Ganguly had nothing to do with the board politics. ``The [recent] board elections do not have any bearing on it [selectors' decision]." Earlier, Punjab Cricket Association president I S Bindra told NDTV 24x7 in Mumbai that Mr. Pawar might hold a discussion with the selection committee on the removal of Ganguly.

In Chandigarh, the former BCCI president, Ranbir Singh Mahendra, told reporters that Ganguly "deserved" selection. — PTI

CPI MP writes to Pawar

Kolkata Special Correspondent reports:

Expressing "shock" at the exclusion of Ganguly, Communist Party of India MP Gurudas Dasgupta has written to Mr. Pawar, seeking his intervention "to protect Indian cricket from narrow politics." He said: "The exclusion was not on merit; it was some other consideration that had influenced the decision of the selection committee... Indian cricket needs to be freed of all evils of narrow-mindedness and parochialism."

Mr. Dasgupta warned, "If the committee does not function on merit the future of Indian cricket will be bleak."

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