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| Deposed The latest auction for the Indian Premier League (IPL) caused a terrible shock to the system of the Prince. Former Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly, not only had to leave The Kolkata Knight Riders – a hard decision as the franchise landed Indian Vice-Captain Gautham Gambhir, but the Prince was left without a team. Ganguly was humiliated further as none of the IPL franchises bid for him. His career seemed over. Just months earlier he had thought that he would end his playing career in Kolkata, but it was not to be. “I really don't see [Sachin] Tendulkar playing for somebody else or [Mahendra Singh] Dhoni playing for somebody else,” Ganguly said, “or me not playing for Kolkota because it's an attachment to the team. It's like Middlesex playing at Lord's. It's different. People attach themselves to teams and people in Bengal attach themselves to players and the team. People come and watch that, so I don't know how that will work out. I'm sure that there will be some sort of agreement that some will stay back and the rest will go to auction.” New Challenge Kolkata decided to go in a different direction. Gambhir received the highest bid in this season's auction and Kolkata took the difficult decision not to renew Ganguly. Left without a team he watched from the sidelines until a late bid from Yuvraj Singh's Pune Warriors resurrected his IPL career, but too late to reach the knock-out stage, so what were his plans? “A couple of years of IPL,” Ganguly said last summer when he led the MCC against Pakistan in a Twenty/20 match at Lord's. “There's pressure boss, Ganguly said. “It's not easy. It's not easy as it seems. It's different from playing for India. The pressure's the same. The expectation to win's there. The stands are full, so many people turn towards the franchises going to win, so it's not as easy as it looks.” Could the lure of hosting the World Cup or being the number one ranked nation in the world in Test cricket and the 50-over game tempt him back for India? “No I'm done,” he told me. “I've played a hundred Test Matches. I'm done.” Ganguly remains a purist. He sees t20 as a format where batsmen and bowlers can thrive. “A bit of both, but Test cricket is the best form of cricket,” he said, unsure if t20 has improved skills. “I think Test cricket is the most important form.” The public, including in India, beg to differ. T20 is the most popular format now, even if cricketers value Test cricket higher. Anticipating the forthcoming tour Ganguly proved a prophet. “India is a strong team, but there will be pressure on them at home – the World Cup,” he said. “No home team has won it, but they can change it.” They did so comfortably and will provide Andy Flower's men their stiffest test yet in the summer. |
