PCB had requested its Indian counterpart to host a bilateral series in December this year
Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly at an event in New Delhi on Tuesday. (Photo: Biplab Banerjee)
New Delhi: Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday supported the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s decision of not resuming the bi-lateral cricketing ties with Pakistan, saying “the terror will have to completely go before play could happen”.
The board’s decision came in the wake of the recent Gurdaspur terror attacks that prompted BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur to declare that there will be no cricket between the nations.
“As much as we understand that it is entertaining and it is an high-profile series, we cannot take away the sufferings which the people go through at the border especially after what happened in Gurdaspur yesterday,” Ganguly said here.
“I think the BCCI is correct in saying that terror will have to completely go before play could happen. Because as human beings we also want terror to completely go,” he added.
The Pakistan Cricket Board had requested its Indian counterpart to host a bilateral series in December this year as per an Memorandum of Understanding signed between the boards comprising five series in eight years till 2023.
“This has been going on for while. When we went to Pakistan in 2004, I was fortunate enough to be the captain of the side and we won the Test and the ODI series, for the first time in Pakistan. That series happened after 15 years,” Ganguly recollected.
As a part of the BCCI advisory committee along with Sachin Tendulkar and V.V.S. Laxman, Ganguly was all praise of Ravi Shastri as team director.
“At the present moment, he (Shastri) has been asked to continue as team director by the board till at least the Sri Lanka tour. Even Anurag Thakur has said in an interview that after the Lanka tour, we will sit and find out if we need a coach. Because we have enough people (support staff) in the team. Ravi is the director of the team and I don’t see any difference between a director and a coach.”
“I think they were very wise in giving Ravi a full go after he joined the team in England last year, so it’s been just one year and why not give him a full go,” the Kolkata-based ex-cricketer said.
Ganguly was hopeful that former India medium-pacer S. Sreesanth will also get relief from the BCCI, which has till now refused to revoke his life ban. “The BCCI gives an opportunity to every player to come back and play and I think a dialogue would happen between the board and Sreesanth. If the board feels that the clearance from the Delhi court is fine, I am sure it will make way for the him to play,” Ganguly said. Not willing to comment on the IPL mess, Ganguly believes that the cash-rich league will carry on with eight teams and even more in the future.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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