The Hindu : Sport : Ganguly upset with media-spread rumours

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Thursday, May 17, 2007
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Sport

Ganguly upset with media-spread rumours

Vijay Lokapally

DISENCHANTED: Sourav Ganguly is not happy with the rumours floating around in the media.

CHITTAGONG: Sourav Ganguly took upon himself to reveal what most of his colleagues have wanted to tell the world while Anil Kumble welcomed the young tweakers into the big league.

Ganguly spoke about the menace of stories being attributed to sources and in the process causing damage to the image of Indian cricket while Kumble had lot of encouraging words for off-spinner Ramesh Powar, left-arm spinner Rajesh Pawar and leg-spinner Piyush Chawla.

"There is too much of sources (stories) going around. Whoever speaks to you, whether off the record and on the record, it is important to take names and then print," Ganguly said at the end of a training session at the Bir Sreshtha Stadium here on Wednesday.

Not joining ICL

Ganguly was furious at all kinds of allegations finding space in the newspapers, particularly the latest "fable" that he was joining the much-hyped Indian Cricket League being projected by Zee. "It is not true. I think there are too many stories going around in Indian cricket. Anybody speaks anything and that's getting printed. The time has come to clarify things because this is not good for the individual as well as the team. I have not had any discussion with anyone, nor am I willing to have any discussion."

The former India captain, at the centre of a whisper campaign concerning his contract, continued, "There are too many false stories going around at the present moment. I know there is competition for news but I think we have to get responsible at some stage. And the time has come for everyone, it is a request, to clarify things before knowing what to print because there are a lot of lies going around. I make it clear that I have not had any discussion with anybody, forget signing, and neither do I intend to in the future."

Returning to cricket, Ganguly confessed he missed the one-day series. "Of course, when you don't play in any form of cricket, you definitely miss it.

"But that is the way it is. I am looking forward to the Test matches. It is just a new series. After South Africa, there was a lot of focus on the World Cup, so we are just playing a lot of one-day cricket. We will just have to play as it comes."

Ganguly also spoke his mind on being dropped or being rested, along with Sachin Tendulkar, for the three one-dayers against Bangladesh. "We were told that we were being rested. There is a difference between the two (being dropped and being rested). They were looking to give youngsters an opportunity. I am sure my turn will come. I will just take it one series at a time, play this well, and I am sure I will get my opportunity."

Clarifying stories

On the kind of stories that appeared regarding the team and him after the World Cup debacle, Ganguly said, "I have played for 12 years and I have got used to all this. Like I said, the time has come to clarify things. There should be some thought for the other person also. They are just one phone call away, and it is not fair to print just one side of the story."

On his phenomenal popularity in Bangladesh, Ganguly said, "It is pretty much like India. I enjoy coming to Bangladesh, and I have been here a number of times, from under-19 to India A to India. This is where I also made my Test captaincy debut. This is special."

On the possibility of a century in the two Tests here, Ganguly, looking pleasantly relaxed, promised, "Next time, if I get to 80s and 90s, I will convert that into a 100."

Kumble too was in a relaxed frame of mind when he interacted with the media.

Having retired from one-day cricket, Kumble observed, "The focus is the same. It is just that I am probably more relaxed now that I have announced my retirement from one-day cricket."

The veteran, with 547 Test wickets to his credit thus far, welcomed the young spinners with a warm heart. "The two spinners who are in the Test squad (Powar and Pawar) have a lot of experience at the domestic level. Both Ramesh and Rajesh have been playing domestic cricket for five to six seasons now. It is good to have young spinners coming through, and whatever limited opportunities they have had, especially Ramesh, they have done pretty well."

He also praised Chawla: "He has done well for a young spinner. For a 18-year-old to come to international cricket and perform the way he has done, I thought he bowled brilliantly in the one-day games. And that, I am sure, will give him a lot of confidence. It is important to have faith in him and support him all the way."

`Quality bowler'

How could he forget Harbhajan Singh! "I definitely miss him. Bhajji has been a quality bowler. And with his quality, I don't see him sitting out of the squad for too long. I am sure he will come back into the team.

"But like I said, the two spinners that we have here, with a lot of domestic experience, will surely come in handy."

Kumble concluded with nice words about Bangladesh. "They have improved a lot. The matches that they have won in the last two years have given them a lot of confidence. They have a good side, and we respect them. Test cricket is definitely different, and they have done well in the Test arena as well when they came close to beating Australia here."

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