No Ganguly means no KKR: Sharukh Khan!

There were too many confusion in the KKR camp before the start of the season 2 of the IPL to be held in South Africa.

Coach John Buchanan said that he has plans to use four captains in a match--one each for toss, field setting, changing bowlers, and deciding batting order.

The current skipper Sourav Ganguly came out open and said that this plan was not discussed with him and he came to know only through media. He also said that he was not sure how his counter-parts will take it.

John replied saying that this was discussed, though not in detail, Ganguly knew that we are planning this option.

The team also did not announce the captain and the squad. It has plans to announce the squad and the captain once the team reaches South Africa.

In the mean time, to clear the air on all these confusion, the owner Sharukh Khan said the team's decision team to have multiple captains was in no way to insult or sideline Dada.

The Bollywood star did not mince words in ridiculing the concept.

"Let me tell you, there is no Kolkata Knight Riders without Dada. We love him," he said on the sidelines of a fashion show.

"We are a team and no decision is taken by one person. Twenty20 is a new format and new things are being tried. Too much has been said, we are not having four captains in one match. It's going to be one captain in one match," he said.

"But in case something goes wrong, we need to have a back-up," he added.

The plan was to field three others as captain along with Ganguly--Brendon McCullum of NZ, Chris Gayle of WI and Laxmi Ratan Shukla of KKR.

Two More Years Left in Me: Ganguly

Famous for bouncing back, the Prince of Kolkata, said in clear terms that he has left at least two years of cricket in him. He will not hang his boots until then.

He said, the senior players have understood that the ODI is more for younger players. Looks like he has realized that the doors are shut for the ODI. But, he is sure that test cricket and T20 is still left in him for at least 2 years.

"I would like to think I have a couple of years left," Ganguly said when asked if he would miss cricket once he quits the game.

"But I won't say I'll miss touring. I'll miss the cricket we play the satisfaction you get from scoring a century or from winning a Test," the left-hander told 'The Sun' today.

He further added that, he misses the one-day game but the older players understand we won't be playing in the 2011 World Cup. So now it is time for the young players to get match experience.

"So I will finish both IPL and Test cricket at the same at this stage of my career I am not playing for financial gain, it's all about the performance." he said.

"You want to finish with reputation in tact, not with people questioning your ability," he added.

Source: Internet

Kirsten and Kumble in Ganguly's Dropping?

It is rumoured that one more time the coach of the Indian team has played role in Ganguly's omisison in the team. This time, it was the role of Kirsten. It was rumoured that he proposed the suggestion to the skipper Kumble and he agreed to it.

Kumble was not ready to drop either Dravid or Laxman. So, he has to decide against Ganguly.

The tough compeition may have forced Kumble to take this decision...probably, not his fault!

Ganguly Not in Irani Cup! End of Road?

Once again the selectors have given room for everyone to talk about the career of former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly.

He is not sure why should he be the victim? Why is he always? It all started with the rift between him and former Indian coach Chappell. He bounced back and got a place into both Test and ODI team.

He is one among the four who did not perform during the test series against Sri Lanka in 2008.

Should be really disappointing for him and his fans. Can he bounce back one more time? Is there enough time left for him to bounce back?

Though, the BCCI panel is going to change before the team selection for the Australian tour, but have to wait and see whether he will get his chance.

All the best Ganguly!

Indian Squad: Sachin and Harbhajan in; Yuavaraj and Pathan dropped!

The Indian team Test Squad was announced. The team is touring Sri Lanka starting July for 3 Test Matches and 5 ODIs. As expected, Sachin has returned from injury. He played against South Africa in the first test and did not play the in remaining two tests. He has made another come back from the injury.

Harbhajan, who was banned for slapping Sreesanth in the IPL match, also made a come back.

Dhoni, who opted to take rest is also sitting out and will be back for the ODI. So, he is not available for half of the tour.

The other top stars of Indian cricket, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman also part of the test side.

Yuvaraj Singh and Irfan Pathan were dropped for their poor form in Asis Cup. Also, they did not contribute in the South African tour.

Rohit Sharma and Ojha were given the chance this time.

The Squad:

Anil Kumble (Captain), Virender Sehwag (Vice Captain), Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Zaheer Khan, VVS Laxman, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel, Parthiv Patel, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, and Sachin Tendulkar

SRK vs. Ganguly

The second team is coming out openly with their differences. This time too, it is between the owner and the captain of the team, Kolkata Knight Riders.

It was said the rift has come out open. Owner Sharukh Khan is not happy for two reasons:

1. Heavy entertainment tax is being paid in the matches played in Kolkata. He approached captain Ganguly to talk to the Chief Minister to get waiver, which Ganguly did not listen to.

2. In the match against Chennai Super Kings, SRK wanted Ganguly to bowl, but he chose to bat. Kolkata lost by D/L method by 2 runs. The match was called off after the 8th over due dust storm and rain.

It seems that Ganguly is not happy because more powers were given to coach Buchanan.

Though the KKR denied the rift, it looks like they wanted to put it under the carpet for now.

It will be better if both of them focus on the remaining matches, win them and see whether luck helps them to enter the first four positions.

GA Pratap Kumar Suspended!

The umpire GA Pratap Kumar officiating the match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders has been suspended for a match, declared IPL.

He was charged for listening to the player and taking a decision to go with the third umpire.

In the match, Ganguly was caught at deep mid wicket by Smith. The catch created doubt in the mind of Ganguly, who completed the run after hitting the ball, went to Pratap Kumar and asked him to refer to the third umpire Asad Rauf. Immediately, GA Pratap Kumar asked the third umpire. Either he should have done it on his own or left it as it is and taken a decision. He should not have listened to the player and allow them to rule the game.

The TV replay did not provide clear pictures and the third umpire was forced to go in favor of the batsman.

Ganguly and Warne were fined 10% of the match fee for forcing umpire to refer third umpire and for openly speaking and accusing respectively.

Warne Disppointed Over Ganguly's Behavior

Ganguly Hits Back!

Ganguly and Warne Fined!

Ganguly and Warne Fined!

After a spat between Kolkata Knight Rider's captain Ganguly and Rajastha Royals skipper Shane Warne, both the players were fined 10% of their match fee.

Both the players have agreed for paying the penalty.

Match umpire GA Pratap Kumar has been suspended for a match because he listened to Ganguly for checking for the third umpire.

Warne takes on Ganguly!

Ganguly Hits Back at Warne!

They both are not happy with the decision of the IPL, but accepted the decision and ready to pay the fine.

It was said that Ganguly was not available to comment on the decison taken by IPL to penalize 10% match fee. He was in the nets with the rest of the team practicing for the match ahead.

Both the teams have agreed to put the issue aside and focus on the game. The team spokes person said that they have agreed to pay the fine and wanted to forget the incident.

Ganguly was fined for violating the code of conduct by forcing the umpire to ask for third umpire, when he was caught at deep midwicket by Smith. His version of the story was, he did not ask the umpire GA Pratap Kumar to refer third umpire. All he said was, the catch was not cleanly taken.

Ganguly Hits Back at Warne!

When asked Ganguly about Warne's comments about his disappointment on Ganguly's late arrival to the pitch, which made Rajasthan Royals to wait in the hot sun for five minutes, Ganguly said, "Look who's talking. You know who has go into trouble so many times. The records will tell."

Warne was disappointed that Ganguly made his team wait for 5 minutes in the hot sun, and did not go out when Smith took the catch. Instead, he forced the umpire to ask for TV reply, which did not have clear pictures and hence third umpire went in favor of the batsman.

Click and read here on What Warne Said!

Warne Takes on Ganguly!

Shane Warne during the post match interview, said that, he was disappointed with Ganguly. He said, his team was waiting in the hot sun for five minutes waiting for Ganguly to arrive. He said, he was wasting time and wanted to take advantage of that.

He said, everyone agreed to play in the right spirit of the game, but he was disappointed that did not happen. He said, his team was waiting Ganguly to arrive and that caused delay of 5 minutes. Each team should complete their bowling in 80 minutes--an hour and twenty minutes.

He also said that Ganguly should have asked Smith whether he took the catch and walked out. He said that catch was taken cleanly though third umpire had another view. The replay was not clear and the third umpire went in favor of the batsman.

Warne mentioned that, Ganguly approached the umpire and forced him to ask the third umpire. This is against the rule as the batsman cannot force the umpire for decisions.

All this happened in the crucial encounter for Kolkata Knight Riders against Rajasthan Royals in Jaiper, which was comfortably won by Rajasthan Royals by 45 runs.

This is the fourth continous win for Rajasthan Royals and third continous defeat for Kolkata Knight Riders lead by Ganguly and owned by Sharukh Khan.

Click here to read what Ganguly had to say about it!

Kolkata Pitch Not Good - Ganguly!

After the win against Deccan Chargers in Kolkata, skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders, Ganguly has agreed with Laxman that the pitch was not a good wicket to play cricket.

The board is also looking into the issue and they may delay the next match scheduled in Eden Gardens.

The wicket was not conducive for good cricket and hence it would only spoil the spirit of the game.

We have to wait and see the decision on further course of action.

Shoaid to Play in IPL!

Shoaib Akhtar announced that he will play in Indian Premier League despite his ban in playing cricket in Pakistan or for playing Pakistan.

We have to wait and see whether he will be eligble to play because Pakistan Cricket Board has banned him for 5 from playing for Pakistan or in Pakistan.

Only yesterday, Shoaib had claimed that the willingness of the Knight Riders to play him confirmed there were no disciplinary issues. "If I had been so indisciplined and had an attitude problem as the Pakistan board claims do you think that Shahrukh Khan or [Sourav] Ganguly would want me to play for their team in the IPL," Shoaib said.

Good luck Shoaib!