‘Sometimes less is more’: Sourav Ganguly’s pointed message to ICC over proposed changes

Agencies
October 16, 2019

Kolkata, Oct 16: Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, who is set to become the BCCI president, on Tuesday expressed his reservations over the ICC’s attempt to stage the 50-over World Cup every three years. The World Cup has traditionally been a quadrennial event since its first edition in 1975. However, the 1992 edition was held after a five-year gap and the 1999 edition after a three-year gap. “Sometimes less is more in life. So we have got to be careful with that. And the football World Cup happens every four years and you see the madness,” Ganguly told reporters at the Cricket Association of Bengal office here.

Ganguly arrived to a rousing welcome in Kolkata after filing his nomination papers for the BCCI president’s post in Mumbai on Monday. He is expected to be elected unopposed in the BCCI elections on October 23.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is planning to propose a Futures Tours Programme (FTP) in which T20 World Cup will be played every year and the 50-over World Cup once every three years.

“That’s a decision the ICC has to make I’m not in a position to talk or comment on it. As in when when I get an opportunity to be a part of the discussion, I will speak,” the former India captain said.

The 47-year-old however said back to back T20 World Cup is the way forward with the rising popularity of the shortest format.

“When Champions Trophy first came in, I played the tournament in 1998. I’ve captained two Champions Trophies getting to finals in both and being the joint winners in one so at that time it was a huge tournament. “But with the advent of T20, people come to the ground more than any other tournament. So I think that’s the reason ICC has changed it. The demands will change according to the situation and ICC will have to deal with it.” The atmosphere here on Tuesday was quite similar to when Ganguly had returned to Kolkata after scoring a debut Test century at Lord’s.

“1996 was 30 times bigger than this. And that will always be the most important day of my life when I first played a Test match for India. Nothing can beat that.

Ganguly said the cricket administration in the country is going through an emergency situation.

“It’s actually an emergency as I have said before and I’m happy to get the responsibility to turn it around. That’s what matters. When it’s tough people believe that you are good enough to do it. That’s my biggest responsibility.

“India is the biggest powerhouse in cricket and should ge the due repsect. Not only financially, but as a team we are probably the best team in the world at the moment. India needs a lot more than they have got.” Ganguly said the BCCI headquarters will remain in Mumbai.

“Obviously all the officers, president, secretaries will have their own offices to work and make sure the daily work goes on. BCCI setup system is a lot more organised than state associations. So from that point of view, it’s going to be a mix and match of both.” “I’m here to do a job for everyone and make Indian cricket a lot more clean administration wise. To get the backroom ready and smooth for everyone. I cannot contribute much on the field.” Asked whether it’s once again a comeback for him like he did in the cricketing field after being snubbed by former India coach Greg Chappell, Ganguly said: “I’ve not got hurt much. If you see in the cricket history of India, only three players have made it to 300 ODIs and 100 Tests. Dravid and Tendulkar and luckily me. Maybe Kohli will play more than that.

“So if I see from that point of view I don’t think I can expect more than that. When you stay at the top things will not be rosy all the time. It’s in everybody’s life you go up and down and come back. That happened to me and I dealt with it.” Ganguly took charge of CAB after the demise of Jagmohan Dalmiya and the former captain said if he achieves 50 per cent of what Dalmiya had achieved as a cricket administrator he would be more than happy.

He was also excited to see Bengal player Wriddhiman Saha making an impact once again with Team India but hoped that he improves his batting.

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News Network
June 18,2020

New Delhi, Jun 18: Premier Indian off-spinner R Ashwin has described Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a "massive influence" on his career, revealing that at the beginning of his IPL stint, he was driven by an intense desire to get the former captain's attention.

Ashwin got his contract with CSK, one of the most successful IPL sides, in 2008 and said the stint with CSK shaped his career.

"IPL and CSK is a stage that everyone wants. For me it was more about recognition. MSD did not know who Ashwin is, (Matthew) Hayden and (Muttiah) Muralithan did not know who Ashwin is. The first thing that came to my mind was that 'I will show these people that Ashwin is here'," Ashwin told Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"I don't know it was being foolish or arrogance but that was how I was made. Nobody was giving me a chance that Ashwin will play alongside Muralitharan or ahead of Muralitharan. I thought, I will get there ahead of him one day," he added.

Ashwin said Dhoni, who led CSK, had "massive influence" on him and the only way to impress him was by troubling him in the nets.

"I got the eye of Hayden, Jacob Oram, and Stephen Fleming while bowling to them at the nets. They were finding it difficult to face me in the first year (2008) but I had not caught the eye of MSD," he said.

"I never had massive interactions with him. It was going to the nets and getting MSD...he was hitting Muralitharan out of the park and I thought, if I bowl better than him, I met get to play ahead of Murali.

" I got his attention when I got him during a Challenger trophy and celebrated like a crazy kid," he recalled.

After that, Ashwin said during CSK's match against Victoria Bushrangers in the now defunct Champions League, he volunteered to bowl the Super Over and Dhoni gave him the ball without hesitation.

Ashwin did not fare well and ended up conceding 23 runs. The off-spinner said when Dhoni walked past him after the match, he only said that, "you should have bowled the carrom ball."

"MS always maintained that you are exceptionally skilful and you should keep doing what you do."

Ashwin has been very successful against the left-handers as 189 of his 365 wickets are of southpaws. Ashwin credited his engineering background and advice from Duncan Fletcher for the success.

"He made a statement that changed cricket. He said it's all about geometry and left it at that. Understanding angles (engineering background) has given me edge over others," he said.

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News Network
March 23,2020

Colombo, Mar 23: Sri Lankan batting great Kumar Sangakkara has said he is currently in self-quarantine, following his government's guidelines for those recently returning from Europe, which has now become the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The authorities are concerned over people returning from the most-affected COVID-19 countries in Europe not registering with the police and practising isolation.

"I have no symptoms or anything like that, but I'm following government guidelines," Sangakkara told News First.

"I arrived from London over a week ago and the first thing was there was a news bulletin saying that anyone who had travelled from within March 1 to 15 should register themselves with the police and undergo self-quarantine. I registered myself with the police."

The former captain said this even as the government confirmed there have been at least three cases of recent returnees attempting to hide the novel coronavirus symptoms from authorities.

Both Sangakkara and his former teammate Mahela Jayawardene have been active on social media, urging Sri Lankans to avoid panic and to exercise proper social distancing, as the country went into curfew on Friday evening.

Sri Lanka has so far reported more than 80 active COVID-19 positive cases in the country.

Across the world, the number of infected has crossed three lakh besides a death toll of more than 14,000 people.

Meanwhile, former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie has also gone into a two-week isolation after returning from the United Kingdom.

Gillespie, who is the head coach at Sussex, had been in Cape Town with the team for a pre-season tour, which was cut short as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

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Agencies
August 4,2020

New Delhi, Aug 4: Former India women's team captain Anjum Chopra firmly believes that the BCCI has a plan for women's cricket but she wants the Board to communicate its ideas more specifically.

Speaking to news agency, Chopra, who is now a successful broadcaster, said the BCCI is thinking in earnest about the progress of women's cricket.

"It's not that the BCCI is not thinking about women's cricket. I only think they need to be more specific in communication about women's cricket," Chopra said.

"I firmly believe that they must be thinking about women's cricket but the communication all this while has been very specific to men's cricket."

The latest trigger for criticism of BCCI was India's withdrawal from a tour of England in September owing to logistical issues arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chopra concedes it was "not nice" but Indian players' participation in the women's IPL, in November, will still be useful preparation for next year's ODI World Cup.

"It is heartening to see women's cricket making headlines. They should have been a part of that England tour and it did not feel nice initially but the women's IPL, irrespective of the format, will be helpful for World Cup preparations. Any form of cricket is good preparation," Chopra said.

"Missing out on a tournament is not nice, but logistically there may have been issues. And you can't send an under-prepared team."

"If you see in isolation we may have missed out on an opportunity to play in England. The more the girls play the better it is, before playing a tournament of the stature of World Cup. The assurance from the president is a very good thing."

Chopra welcomed the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI's decision to hold the women's event in the UAE alongside the IPL, which will run from September 19 to November 10. The women's IPL will coincide with the business end of the men's league.

"I am definitely happy, it's always nice to be part of any cricket anywhere across the world.

"They should have been nearing the final stages of the preparation for the World Cup by now, but because of the pandemic things did not go as planned," she added.

Chopra had a successful international career spanning over 17 years, during which she represented India in a record six World Cups and became the first woman cricketer to appear in 100 One-day Internationals.

She also felt that the pandemic would not have much impact on the women's game that has gained momentum in recent times.

"...Cricket was on pause button...Once cricket resumes and players are back on the park, everything is going to get picked up. It might take some time to get started as everything starts from zero...

"The awareness the women's game has created, I hope it stays. They will just restart, not start after the pandemic."

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