Sourav Ganguly bats for Laxmi Ratan Shukla's India comeback in Ranji final

January 16, 2014

Sourav_GangulyKolkata, Jan 16: Urging Bengal skipper Laxmi Ratan Shukla not to lose hope for a India comeback, Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday said the national selectors would surely be noticing the allrounder's sparkling show if they make the Ranji final.

"If Bengal make the final, Shukla's performance will be counted by the national selectors, (Ashoke) Dinda will also make a strong case for himself for a comeback," Ganguly said of Shukla who played three ODIs way back in 1999.

Despite having got the Lala Amarnath award for the best all-rounder in domestic limited overs by the Board, the 32-year-old is still being overlooked as Stuart Binny was chosen for the allrounder spot in India's five ODIs in New Zealand.

Defending the decision, Ganguly said the selectors had considered the burly allrounder's IPL show for the Rajasthan Royals and rued that Bengal had little representation in the T20 extravaganza which is taken as a yardstick.

"He (Binny) had been a stand out performer for the Rajasthan Royals and in their qualification into the (IPL 6) final. He has also been retained by Rajasthan Royals.

"But if you look at Bengal, our boys are not even get a chance to play in IPL regularly...

"On form, Shami is the best Indian pacer at the moment, but it's unfortunate that he's not retained by the state franchise (KKR).

"These are the things national selectors take into account. Selectors are bound to give importance to a big tournament like IPL, that's the way it is, that's the system," Ganguly pointed out.

Hailing Bengal for making the Ranji semifinal for the first time since 2006-07, Ganguly said: "They have all performed under from pressure, right from skipper Shukla, Dinda who is still being overlooked by the national selectors...

"All these players have stood under pressure. For four years, they have fought relegation. I've seen it very closely. I know how tough it is," the left-hander told a Bengali news channel.

"On paper, Bengal have beaten stronger teams to make the semis than Maharashtra who have come from lower rung group C. But any team at this stage is strong, they (Bengal) have to play all five days of good cricket to be in the final," he said of Bengal who will face Maharashtra in Indore from January 18-22.

Ganguly further said India would do well in the five ODI and two-Test series in New Zealand, an "inferior" side to South Africa.

"They dont have (Dale) Steyn or (Morne) Morkel in their side. New Zealand are an inferior side in comparison to South Africa. If their coaches are intelligent enough, they would have out and out greentops.

"I'm very very hopeful of success against New Zealand. We've just come back from a tough tour of South Africa, losing both Test and ODI series. We have seen India doing well after a difficult tour. But I'm hopeful of Team India doing well in New Zealand."

Ganguly, who has already got an honorary fellowship from University of Central Lancashire, will be conferred D.Litt by the Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur.

"That I will be honoured in my home town makes it all the more special. It's a big honour for me. I feel proud," Ganguly concluded.

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News Network
July 24,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 24: Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who was earlier banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching the Anti-Corruption Code, on Friday, said that people are bound to make mistakes and the important thing is that how well they make a comeback.

Shakib was banned from all forms of cricket on October 29 last year after he accepted the charges of breaching the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code. He will be able to resume international cricket from October 29, 2020.

"You have to be honest. You just can't lie to the people and pretend different things. Whatever happened has happened. People are bound to make mistakes. You are not 100%. The important thing is how well you can comeback from those mistakes. You can tell other people not to make those mistakes. Tell them the path so that they never take those paths," Shakib told Deep Dasgupta in a videocast hosted by ESPNcricinfo.

The 33-year-old all-rounder said he has seen many controversies ever since he was first made captain in 2009. He had trouble with the board chief, selectors and the media, mainly about selectorial decisions and not being made permanent captain between 2009 and 2010.
He believes those experiences have changed him as a person over time.

"I think [it's] combination of both [controversy following him, and vice versa]. I got the responsibility so early in my career, I was bound to make mistakes. I was captain when I was 21. I made a lot of mistakes, and there are so many things that people think about me. Now I realise that it was my fault in some areas, and in some I was misunderstood. But I get it completely. It is part and parcel in the subcontinent," Hasan said.

"Of course I will try to minimise [my mistakes] as much as I can, but by the time I got married, and now I have two kids, I understand the game and life better. It has made me a calmer person than I was in my twenties. I have changed quite a lot. People won't see me doing a lot of mistakes now. My two daughters changed my life completely," he added.

Shakib is likely return to international cricket during Bangladesh's proposed Test series against Sri Lanka in October. 

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News Network
March 5,2020

Mumbai, Mar 5: Former India spinner Sunil Joshi was on Wednesday named chairman of the national selection panel by the BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), which also picked ex-pacer Harvinder Singh to the five-member group.

The CAC, comprising Madan Lal, R P Singh and Sulakshana Naik, picked the two selectors with Joshi replacing South Zone representative MSK Prasad.

In an unprecedented decision, the BCCI said the CAC will review the panel's performance after one year and make recommendations accordingly.

"The committee recommended Sunil Joshi for the role of chairman of the senior men's selection committee. The CAC will review the candidates after a one-year period and make the recommendations to the BCCI," read a statement from BCCI Secretary Jay Shah.

Harvinder was chosen from central zone and replaces Gagan Khoda in the panel.

The existing members of the selection panel are Jatain Paranjpe, Devang Gandhi and Sarandeep Singh.

"We have picked the best guys for the job," Lal told news agency.

The CAC had shortlisted five candidates for interviews -- Joshi, Harvinder, Venkatesh Prasad, Rajesh Chauhan and L S Sivaramakrishnan -- from a list of 40 applicants.

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Agencies
April 12,2020

London, Apr 12: Former Formula 1 legendary driver Stirling Moss died at the age of 90 on Sunday.

"All at F1 send our heartfelt condolences to Lady Susie and Sir Stirling's family and friends," Formula 1 said in a statement.

Often referred to as the greatest driver never to win the world championship, Moss contested 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, driving for the likes of Vanwall, Maserati and Mercedes, where he famously formed a contented and ruthlessly effective partnership with lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

In his 10-year-long stint at the tracks, Moss took 16 wins, some of which rank among the truly iconic drives in the sport's history - his 1961 victories in Monaco and Germany in particular often held up as all-time classics.

Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia on public roads for Mercedes at an average speed of close to 100mph, while he also competed in rallies and land-speed attempts.

Following an enforced retirement from racing (barring a brief comeback in saloon cars in the 1980s) after a major crash at Goodwood in 1962, Moss maintained a presence in Formula 1 as both a sports correspondent and an interested observer, before retiring from public life in January of 2018.

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