Ganguly surprised at Yuvraj's selection

August 11, 2012
ganguly

New Delhi, August 11: Even as Indian Premier League, commissioner Rajeev Shukla hailed the comeback of Yuvraj Singh into the national side for the upcoming World Twenty20 championship in Sri Lanka, former India captain Sourav Ganguly has expressed surprise at the batsman's inclusion in the team.

Yuvraj has not played competitive cricket since India's World Cup triumph in April last year after he was diagnosed with a rare germ cell cancer.

"I am a bit surprised. I just wish he physically stays well because you know he has come out of a...what can I say, a big disappointment. He has recovered, which is the best thing that can happen, but it has not been a long time and I wish and pray he sustains," an apprehensive Ganguly told reporters during the sidelines of a function.

The former skipper, however, welcomed the decision of selectors to pick offspinner Harbhajan Singh for the T20 competition.

"He is a class act. When you play for a long time you have hiccups. But I am happy that he has made a comeback," Ganguly said. Shukla while welcoming the decision of the selectors to consider Yuvraj for the World T20 said that his inclusion will be a big boost for the Indian players.

"It is a very courageous effort on part of Yuvraj Singh and everybody should welcome it. It would lift the morale of other players in the team," Shukla said. Offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin expressed his happiness over Yuvraj's inclusion into the team and expected the left-hander to announce his comeback with a big bang.

"What I am today is partly because of of Yuvi. The first time I broke into some kind of great cricket it was when yuvi was the captain of Challenger side and he actually encouraged me and motivated me a lot to move ahead in my career.

"I am very pleased that he is back and I will be very very happy if he comes back with a bang getting some runs for the team," Ashwin said. Ganguly, meanwhile, was disappointed with the selection of the Test squad and said the only criterion for making it to the team should be the form and nothing else.

The veteran cricketer in particular was the manner the selectors have retained the same team which received a 0-4 drubbing at the hands of Australia earlier this year.

"Looking at the Test team, I am a bit disappointed. My only point is that it is the same team which lost 4-0 to Australia. There has been no change, the only person missing is Rahul Dravid, who has retired. So you lost that series 4-0 and if you have to believe that everything is fine, I am not sure," the batsman said.


Asked about VVS Laxman's inclusion in the Test team, Ganguly said, "Selection has to on the basis of form, it should not be on the basis of age. And for someone like VVS Laxman what I feel is important is to have a clear picture."

"After playing so much it should not be one series, this series or the next series. It should be very clear with Laxman or any other Indian player like Dravid or (Sachin) Tendulkar, because they have been great players and it should not be like you are picked for this tour and you may not play the next, it should not be like that," Ganguly pointed.

The left-hander was also happy about Lakshmipathy Balaji's return to the national team.

"Balaji has done very well in IPL and he is a very-very good bowler. I am happy to see him. He had injury problems and I am happy to see him get back into the team. He is a quality bowler and I have seen that in Pakistan in 2003. He will be a handy bowler," he said.

Asked about Rohit Sharma's future, particularly in the longer format of the game, the 40-year-old said, "He has got time. If he gets his head right he will get his form back."



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News Network
March 6,2020

Melbourne, Mar 6: Experienced middle-order batter Veda Krishnamurthy believes that "destiny" is in favour of first-time finalist India to win their maiden ICC Women's T20 World Cup title provided they get a grip on their nerves in the summit clash against Australia on Sunday.

India will have a psychological advantage going into the final as they had stunned the defending champions by 17 runs in the tournament opener.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India reached the final on the basis of their unbeaten record in the tournament after their semifinal against England was washed out on Thursday.

Krishnamurthy, who was a part of the Indian team that finished runner-up to England in the 2017 Women's ODI World Cup, knows the pain of missing out on a world title.

"It's all about destiny, and I'm a big believer in destiny. I feel like this is the way it was meant to be. There is a joke going around that this World Cup is made in such a way that it's helping us, starting from the wickets to everything else," she was quoted as saying by the tournament's official website.

"Being in the final is just reward for the way we played in the group stages. There was an advantage to having won all our games with the weather not in our hands."

The team's first target of reaching the final having achieved, the 27-year-old player said the Indians now need to hold their nerves and remain focussed leading up to the big day on Sunday.

"We said the first aim was to get to the final and take it from there. We've crossed the first stage. We need to make sure we hold our nerves and we do what we need to do on the final day," she said.

India's recent rivalry with Australia has taken fascinating twists and turns, with Kaur's outfit chasing down 173 in their recent tri-series, then getting home by 17 runs in the T20 World Cup opener.

But all is not hunky-dory for Krishnamurthy on the personal front. Considered a great finisher, she has recovered from a series of single-digit scores in the tri-series to score 20 from 11 balls in a finishing role against Bangladesh.

Having amassed just 35 runs from four matches in the tournament so far, the Karnataka batter knows her role in the team.

"As an individual, the role given to me is very consistent in the last year. They've put the effort in the last year to keep me there and I've been supported by every individual, not just one or two. The entire team, with all the support staff, have shown faith in me," she said.

"I know coming into the World Cup, I would play a crucial role to finish the innings well, which I felt I was unable to do in the last World Cup in the West Indies," she added.

Krishnamurthy said specific roles have been set for every player of the squad and they all are trying to contribute as much as they can to help the team achieve its goal.

"I was very motivated to do my role and I've been working on that. It's not just me, all 15 players involved know what their role is," she said.

"I'm happy we're all putting in efforts and executing our role properly. Even if it's a smallish contribution of saving a couple of runs, it's all panned out really well."

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News Network
May 15,2020

New Delhi, May 15: Former England skipper David Gower feels Sourav Ganguly has the right "political skills" to lead the ICC one day and he has already displayed that as BCCI president, which is a "far tougher job".

The elegant left-hander is very impressed with Ganguly's leadership abilities and believes that he has what it takes to head the global body in the future.

"One thing I have learnt over the years is that if you are going to run BCCI, you need to be many, many things. Having a reputation like he (Ganguly) has is a very good start, but you need to be a very deft politician.

"You need to have control of a million different things," Gower said ahead of "Q20", a unique chat show for the fans presented by 'GloFans'.

Gower reckons being president of the BCCI is the toughest job imaginable in world cricket.

"And of course, you need to be responsible for a game that is followed by, I mean, should we say a billion people here in India," he said.

"We all know about the immense following for cricket in India. So it is indeed a wonderful thing to behold. Sourav has the toughest task imaginable in charge of BCCI, but so far I would say the signs are very good.

"He has listened, given his own opinion and has pulled strings gently," he said.

Political skills are a must in administration and that's where Gower finds his fellow left-hander ticking all the boxes.

"He is a very, very good man and has those political skills. He has the right attitude and can keep things together and will do good job. And if you do a good job as BCCI chief in the future, who knows?

"But I would actually say the more important job, to be honest, is running BCCI. Being head of ICC is an honour, there is a lot that can be done by ICC, but actually look at the rankings, look at where the power is heading up. BCCI is definitely the bigger job," he said.

On the cricketing front, Gower believes World Test Championship has given the format much-needed context.

"The idea of this World Test Championship has come about for one very simple reason that people are worried about the survival of Tests. Back in the seventies, eighties, I don't think we needed context to be fair.

"Test cricket was very much more obviously the most important format and if there was anything to be judged by, it was the performances in Test matches both as an individual and as a team.

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News Network
July 23,2020

New Delhi, Jul 23: With one year to go for the Olympic Games to begin in Tokyo on July 23, 2021, Indian women's hockey team skipper Rani Rampal on Thursday said the side has performed well against top teams in recent times and can do the same at the Olympics.

The Indian team has competed well against top teams in the recent past and has registered memorable victories at the FIH Series Finals and the FIH Olympic Qualifiers last year.

"We have competed against top teams in the recent past and we have shown that our team has the capability of winning a medal and making our country proud at the Olympics. We have a good group of experienced players, who are guiding the junior players very well. Our team has been getting better with each tournament we have played and we will definitely improve our game even further in the next one year," said the 25-year-old said in a statement.

Speaking about her participation at the Olympics, Rani said that the experience will help her make better decisions at the Tokyo Olympics.

"It was great to be a part of the Olympics in Rio. We made history by qualifying for the tournament after 36 years. It was a great feeling to be playing at the biggest of stages. Even though we didn't register the best of results, I have certainly learned a lot by playing the Olympic Games matches in 2016. I am sure all the players, who played in the 2016 Olympics, will make much better decisions on the pitch at the Tokyo Olympics, based on their experience in Rio," she said.

The Tokyo Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8, 2021, while the Paralympics will take place from August 24 to September 5, 2021.  

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