40 is just another number for Sourav Ganguly

July 9, 2012

ganguly

So what if Sourav Ganguly decides to play in IPL 6? He will still be a 'youth' when IPL begins next season. At 40, Ganguly still feels there's enough cricket left in him, and the failure as the Pune Warriors captain was just another bad phase.

"I'm also a human and prone to failures," is how he reacts to the poor IPL 5 outing. So, when most of his fellow mates have decided to take over as mentors, Ganguly is still in two minds. To play or not to play, is the question!

In a press conference last May, Rahul Dravid had in a way made it clear that once Rajasthan Royals find an alternative, he would happily focus on his job as a mentor.

"l will take a few months' break now and then decide after consultations with the team management what my role will be. My goal is to try and develop young players," Dravid had said.

Just a year younger to Ganguly, Dravid may just be seen donning the mentor's hat next season. It won't be a surprise. The Wall has time and again admitted that he has no problem in acting as the mentor.

Anil Kumble has already taken over as a mentor for Royal Challengers Bangalore, VVS Laxman has decided to give the million-dollar league a miss, perhaps realizing that its time to leave the baton to the fresh legs.

But for the Prince of Calcutta, 'age is just a number'. For a man, whose first love has been cricket; it's difficult to completely switch off from it. And, perhaps, that's why he always talks positive, when it comes to his game.

The kind of humiliation and toil the gentleman has gone through, any man would have made up his mind to call it a day, but Ganguly is different. "I will take a call next season. As a matter of fact, I would not be even 41 when the IPL 6 would begin in 2013," he says.

Still having a year's contract left with the Pune Warriors, the former India captain is still unsure about his next step in the world of IPL.

But, the gentleman, who turned 40 on Sunday, would in all probabilities want to leave IPL on a high. So, next year even if you see him back in action, don't get surprised, because for Dada, "life is simple" and age is just a number!


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Agencies
January 11,2020

Dubai, Jan 11: India opener KL Rahul has retained the sixth position while skipper Virat Kohli and left-hander Shikhar Dhawan have advanced one place each in the latest ICC Men's T20I player rankings after the conclusion of the series against Sri Lanka.

India won the T20I series 2-0 with one match getting washed out. Rahul, the highest-ranked Indian batsman, has gained 26 points and is now at the sixth spot with 760 rating points.

Rahul is just six points behind Australia's Glenn Maxwell after scores of 45 and 54 in his two innings against Sri Lanka.

Kohli, top-ranked in Tests and ODIs, is in the ninth position while Dhawan is on 15th. Manish Pandey has advanced four places and is ranked at the 70th.

India's fast bowlers have made notable gains in the first T20I update of the year and would be encouraged as they prepare for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.

Player of the series Navdeep Saini has rocketed from 146 places to 98th while Shardul Thakur has re-entered in 92nd position after both finished with five wickets in the series. Jaspreet Bumrah has gained eight places to reach the 39th position.

For Sri Lanka, Dhananjaya de Silva has gained 72 places to reach 115th among batsmen after aggregating 74 runs while spinner Lakshan Sandakan has moved up 10 places to reach 29th position after grabbing three wickets in the series.

In the ICC Men's team rankings, India have gained two points but remain at fifth position with 260 points, while Sri Lanka have lost two points and now have 236 points and are at the eighth spot.

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Colombo, Aug 1: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has expressed his interest in playing the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), scheduled to start from August 28.

Pathan is among 70 foreign players to have shown interest in playing the LPL, ESPNcricinfo reported.

It is believed that Pathan has taken permission from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take part in the competition. 

BCCI doesn't allow active players to participate in other T20 leagues but Pathan announced his retirement in January this year.

Former swashbuckling all-rounder Yuvraj Singh also played in a foreign league last year. He played for Maratha Arabians in the T10 League in Abu Dhabi.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Pathan will now be put in a player draft unless one of the five franchises choose him to be a marquee player. The details of the draft, and the franchise owners, are yet to be finalised and announced. 

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is also waiting on some government clearances even as it decides on franchise owners. The five franchises will represent Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna.

On Monday, SLC Executive Committee granted approval for the tournament.

"The 23 match League will be played on the four international venues of R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Rangiri Dambulu International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium and Suriyawewa Mahinda Rajapakse International Cricket Stadium. Five teams named after the cities of Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna will participate in the League," SLC said in a statement on Monday.

Sri Lanka has controlled the spread of COVID-19 better than many other cricket-playing nations.

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Agencies
June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: Expressing solidarity with the 'Black Lives Matter' campaign, star West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has alleged that he faced racist remarks during his career and cricket is not free of the menace.

Gayle did not elaborate when he faced racial remarks but hinted it might have been during his stints at global T20 leagues.

"I have travelled the globe and experienced racial remarks towards me because I am black, believe me, the list goes on," he posted on instagram on Monday night.

"Racism is not only in football, it's in cricket too. Even within teams as a black man, I get the end of the stick. Black and powerful. Black and proud," he said.

The big-hitting batsman's comments came in the backdrop of African-American George Floyd's death in the USA after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee on the handcuffed man's neck as he gasped for breath.

The incident has sparked violent protests across the USA.

"Black lives matter just like any other life. Black people matter, p***k all racist people, stop taking black people for fools, even our own black people wise the p***k up and stop bringing down your own!," Gayle wrote.

Racism in cricket was drew attention most recently last year when England pacer Jofra Archer was abused by a spectator in New Zealand.

New Zealand's top players and the cricket board had offered apologies for the incident to the Englishman.

Also on Monday night, the England cricket team's official twitter handle posted a message denouncing racism.

"We stand for diversity, We stand against racism," the message read.

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