‘I'm worried about team, not coach’
Source: CNN-IBN Date: August 26, 2009
Kolkata: The selection of the coach for Kolkata Knight Riders seems to be hotting up with more and more candidates entering the fray, Pakistan cricket legend Wasim Akram being the latest addition.
Just a day after his name was thrown in for the post of KKR coach, Wasim Akram has said that he is keen to give it a shot.
The former Pakistan captain said he was scheduled to meet Shah Rukh Khan on Sunday to discuss the assignment.
"It requires a lot of patience and that is something I have acquired over a period of time. I have played alongside Sourav Ganguly and Chris Gayle. I will be able to pass on some skills and techniques with the on-field experience I have," Akram told ESPN.
The man in the centre of it all, Sourav Ganguly spoke of his rapport with some of the men shortlisted for the job and his other roles on the sidelines.
Sourav Ganguly: "The KKR people have taken interview of lot of coaches. We have got some more to go on the next Sunday after which Shah Rukh and Joy will decide who the new coach is. There are definitely some big names and hopefully, we will get the right person."
CNN-IBN: Wasim Akram has also joined the race apart from John Wright and Pravin Amre. Are you looking for a blend of foreign and Indian coaches?
Sourav Ganguly: "I am not too worried about the coaches. I am really worried about the team, what team we put on the park. I am spending a lot of time trying to get that right."
CNN-IBN: John Wright and you had a very good time when he was the coach and you were the captain of the Indian team. So now, how are you looking forward to it?
Sourav Ganguly: "Well, let him get first selected. Let us not jump the gun. Obviously, I had a great relationship with John. He is a great man. He's worked superbly with me as India's coach."
CNN-IBN: Did you suggest Wasim Akram's name?
Sourav Ganguly: "I have a good relationship with Wasim and, with other people as well. Shah Rukh and Wasim had a chat. Wasim is a great bowler. I know him very well. So, he will be fine."
CNN-IBN: You have been selected as the chairman of the Cricket Development Committee of the CAB. What sort of developments are you looking forward to?
Sourav Ganguly: "I have made a plan and hopefully, I will get them implemented. Implementation is more important. You can develop a whole lot of things but as long as you don't implement them, it gets nothing. So once I get the official confirmation, I will try and implement them."
CNN-IBN: How are you looking forward to IPL-III?
Sourav Ganguly: "We will just go and play. Past has got nothing to do."
‘Tendulkar a bigger player than me’
Source: Cricket Next Date: August 14, 2008
Mumbai: Sourav Ganguly, who turned 37 Wednesday, kept the speculation about him entering cricket administration alive by speaking of his wish to become an administrator while, at the same time, keeping his fans guessing as to when and where he makes the new beginning.
The former India captain, who spent the birthday morning attending his first BCCI Technical Committee meeting at the Cricket Centre, also spoke about the challenges faced by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rahul Dravid’s comeback to the ODI team.
The following are excerpts
You have started playing many roles after your international retirement
Everything is new; I am getting used to it. But it has not been that long, just six months (since the retirement). It’s new and different.
What is the objective behind your joining cricket administration?
Let’s see how it goes in due course. I can’t say anything now. I want to be a part of cricket. In Bengal, there are a lot of things that need looking after. Hopefully, I will be part of it. Let’s see.
On reports about your contesting the CAB elections…
I have just seen it in the papers. I am not going to comment on it… Will take one step at a time and see how it goes.
Dhoni has been facing a few challenges as captain…
It’s bound to happen. You cannot go through a long period winning everything. There will be some tough challenges. Dhoni has faced a little bit of it… there will be more (in the long run). I don’t know how long he captains India, but he is a smart cricketer and has a good head.
Your views on Dravid’s return to the ODI scheme of things…
He is such a good player… he will always be a bonus. I’m sure he didn’t expect it (the recall). It is good for Indian cricket. He is a top player and will do well for the country. It is a right decision if he does well, which he will.
How do you think Irfan Pathan’s career is progressing?
The comeback of Dravid and Ashish Nehra is a prime example of how you can keep coming back if you keep performing. I am sure Irfan himself must be feeling he can do a bit better. We all know that he is exceptionally talented, we shouldn’t worry too much.
On the idea to have 4-day and day-night Tests…
I am a supporter of five-day Tests. Regarding day-night Tests, I won’t say I am averse to it but the white ball thing must be sorted out to make it interesting.‘I’ll take one step at a time’
Source: Telegraph India Date: July 9, 2008
Mumbai: Sourav Ganguly, who turned 37 Wednesday, kept the speculation about him entering cricket administration alive by speaking of his wish to become an administrator while, at the same time, keeping his fans guessing as to when and where he makes the new beginning.
The former India captain, who spent the birthday morning attending his first BCCI Technical Committee meeting at the Cricket Centre, also spoke about the challenges faced by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rahul Dravid’s comeback to the ODI team.
The following are excerpts
You have started playing many roles after your international retirement
Everything is new; I am getting used to it. But it has not been that long, just six months (since the retirement). It’s new and different.
What is the objective behind your joining cricket administration?
Let’s see how it goes in due course. I can’t say anything now. I want to be a part of cricket. In Bengal, there are a lot of things that need looking after. Hopefully, I will be part of it. Let’s see.
On reports about your contesting the CAB elections…
I have just seen it in the papers. I am not going to comment on it… Will take one step at a time and see how it goes.
Dhoni has been facing a few challenges as captain…
It’s bound to happen. You cannot go through a long period winning everything. There will be some tough challenges. Dhoni has faced a little bit of it… there will be more (in the long run). I don’t know how long he captains India, but he is a smart cricketer and has a good head.
Your views on Dravid’s return to the ODI scheme of things…
He is such a good player… he will always be a bonus. I’m sure he didn’t expect it (the recall). It is good for Indian cricket. He is a top player and will do well for the country. It is a right decision if he does well, which he will.
How do you think Irfan Pathan’s career is progressing?
The comeback of Dravid and Ashish Nehra is a prime example of how you can keep coming back if you keep performing. I am sure Irfan himself must be feeling he can do a bit better. We all know that he is exceptionally talented, we shouldn’t worry too much.
On the idea to have 4-day and day-night Tests…
I am a supporter of five-day Tests. Regarding day-night Tests, I won’t say I am averse to it but the white ball thing must be sorted out to make it interesting.
‘Don't judge a team on T20 only’
Source: CNN-IBN Date: June 18, 2009
London: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly backs under-fire skipper MS Dhoni and says the team and country should put behind the humiliation of the T20 World Championship and move on.
Ganguly, who is in London and will turn a new page when he sits behind the camera for ESPN, spoke to CNN-IBN's associate cricket editor Nishant arora. While he backed Team India, he also said that fatigue can never be an excuse for the young lads in the team.
Sourav Ganguly: Just like any other Indian supporter, you feel bad that the team didn't do well enough. These kinds of things happen in sports. This team has done very well in the last one, one and a half years. This tournament has been a bit of a poor show, but it happens in sport. I understand that. And it's T20 and we should not swayed too much up or down with it because the real test of a cricketer is Test matches and the 50-over game. India has done well in Test matches and they will always judge this team on how they have done in Test matches, not in T20.
Nishant Arora: You were there in Nottingham, you saw them play against South Africa. Could you make sense of what was missing in the side?
Sourav Ganguly: Obviously Sehwag makes a major difference to the team. Rohit was opening for the first time in his career and obviously it did not go well for him in the three important games. Sehwag, Sachin and Gambhir have been the key part of the Indian team in the shorter format of the game. Those two big players were missing so there was a weakness at that part.
Nishant Arora: Gary Kirsten has said that one of the reasons could be the fatigue that the players have carried from the IPL.
Sourav Ganguly: No, I don't agree with this. They are young boys, they are just 22-23 years old and have just started their careers. I know they have played a lot of cricket, but not all of them have played a lot of cricket. Probably, Dhoni and Yuvraj or Zaheer and Harbhajan - who were part of the consistent Test teams as well - have done a lot of travelling on the road. But as I said this is the age to play, they are 25-26. Even if you are fatigued or tired, you have to find ways out to get yourself up and going.
Nishant Arora: Just before the start of the tournament, the Indian team was making news for all the wrong reasons, like news about how Dhoni and Sehwag were not getting along. The other issue was about how Dhoni handled the media.
Sourav Ganguly: I don't want to talk much about this. What Dhoni did with the media is completely his personal thing. They are young boys, young blood, so they will learn in due course. But all I feel is that they should concentrate on their game. The media is going to do their job and their (cricketers) job is to score runs and take wickets. And to be honest they have done well before this tournament, so there is no reason to get worked up. These issues have cropped up in the past, they are cropping up now and they will crop up in the future. Even when Dhoni finishes there will be two personalities where things will be written about it. Sometimes it's true, sometimes it's not true, sometimes it's blown out of proportion. But you just have to put this behind.
Nishant Arora: Lot of people relate Dhoni's captaincy with your captaincy. You were aggressive, he is aggressive. You always took the team together, he also comes across as someone who can keep the boys together. This is the first time that his captaincy has come under the scanner. Do you think there were some grave strategical mistakes this time around - sending Jadeja up in the order or playing Ishant Sharma. What could you make of his captaincy in this particular tournament?
Sourav Ganguly: See, every time you lose, captaincy will come under the scanner, especially when you lose in a World Cup. Issues will be there, but Dhoni has done wonderfully well as a captain. He is a young captain. He has just captained India as a full-time captain for six months in all formats of the game, so we need to support him. And every captain will make wrong decisions. But the only complain I have about Dhoni is that he bats too lower down the order. And I've told him that before even when he was not a captain, when he was playing one-day cricket. He needs time to settle down, he's such a dangerous player in the shorter format of the game that he can win you games. Just like anyone else he needs some time in the middle before he starts exploding.
Nishant Arora: Could you relate to their defeats this time because KKR had a similar kind of a ride in the IPL. And is it true that when you hit a slide in a game like Twenty20, you jus don't know how to get up and start walking again.
Sourav Ganguly: No, I don't think so. I don't think that's the case. Twenty20 or 50-50 gives you the opportunity to come the next game or the day after. It's a new game every day and anybody can win. KKR, we were very disappointed with the way we played. We lost lot of close games. But I am sure with this Indian team they are going to get things together. The tour to West Indies will not be easy because West Indies in West Indies is a different team altogether. They are in the semifinals of the Twenty20 World Cup and they have the chance to get to the finals, so they will be a dangerous one-day side when they get to the West Indies. But I am sure the Indian team is good enough.
Nishant Arora: A lot of people are also talking about the level you play in the IPL and in the international level. Do you think there is a difference, because before coming here people were saying that if you play the IPL, it's a great thing because it gives you the edge in the format and you know how to go about in this tournament. Do you think that is the case or you become complacent?
Sourav Ganguly: IPL standard is very good, but international standard is even better because you get 11 quality international players. And at the end of the day it's about playing for the country. Let's not confuse IPL with T20. IPL is a wonderful thing for Indian cricket, and for world cricket and it just happens for two months in a year. So let's not take everything to IPL. It's a different tournament where these boys have not done well. Hopefully these young boys will get themselves sorted mentally, more importantly. And they will be back doing well again.
Nishant Arora: And you are starting a new innings new, Sourav Ganguly the commentator.
Sourav Ganguly: It's not a full time thing yet, just a couple of games - the semis and the finals. Let's see how it goes.
Nishant Arora: And how different you could be there because when you were captain, you used to listen to the pundits talking about the game and now you will be doing the same job. You've played with some of these cricketers, so how do you see this going.
Sourav Ganguly: Well, it'll be new. But being a cricketer, I'll hopefully be at the side of the cricketer all the time.
Nishant Arora: And who's your favourite commentator?
Sourav Ganguly: There are quite a few of them actually, Richie Benaud - he's been fantastic over the years. He's probably been the face of commentating in cricket. Bill Lawry has been outstanding. Mr Gavaskar is there from India. Few around from world cricket - David Lloyd from England, Ian Botham and Ian Chappell. They are big names in commentating.
'Whenever the coach has tried to dominate there has been problems'
Source: Rediff Date: February 20, 2009
Sourav Ganguly retired from international cricket last year, after the home series against Australia in early November. And before he resumes duties as captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the second edition of the Indian Premier League come April, he is already into something. Something quite different from any of his earlier vocations. That of a reality show host.
The show, in this case, is called Knights and Angels, and Ganguly's job is to help pick six girls who will be cheerleaders for KKR. If the man of the moment was a bundle of nerves at a promotional event for it, you couldn't blame him. It was a different experience for him and, somehow, one couldn't help but wonder if he was doing all this at Shah Rukh Khan's (KKR team owner) insistence.
The fact that half the questions were pertaining to the show made things further difficult (and "uncomfortable") for the 'Gentleman Cricketer'. He desperately tried to hold forth though. So what is Ganguly's view on cheerleaders, considering there was a lot of controversy surrounding the same in the inaugural edition of the
"One has to realise that T20 is a bit of cricket and a bit of entertainment," retorted Ganguly, trying hard to be convincing in his new role. So one has to look at cheerleading a bit different, as something that adds to the entertainment." But does he believe that these cheerleaders do distract players? No, not really," said Ganguly, before adding, "A cricketer is used to playing among hordes of people and can hardly be distracted by things such as this."
A few other questions followed and the discomfort was becoming apparent when, all of a sudden, a cricket-related question was asked. To say that Ganguly was more keen to answer those would be an understatement. To start with, what did he think of India's chances on the upcoming tour of New Zealand?
"It will be tough. All the while we have been playing in the sub-continent," said Ganguly. "The only thing I am worried about is the lack of warm-up games. I felt the players should have been given some time to get acclimatised to the conditions." Ganguly's worry was not entirely unfounded, considering he led India on that disastrous tour to New Zealand in 2002-03.
"New Zealand is a tough side at home. And the conditions there are very difficult," reasoned the 36-year-old. "Hopefully, the boys will adjust. More importantly, Rahul (Dravid) and VVS (Laxman) should get into the groove as early as possible, for they will be crucial to the team's prospects."
But having been there, what does the team need to do to win? "India has to bat well," came the replay. "If they have to win, then everyone, be it seniors or juniors, has to score enough runs."
And having skippered India with considerable
"But even with Rahul as captain, we had won in England and Ireland. I have always maintained that the captain is as good as his team and stand by that even now!"
And what about Gary Kirsten as a coach? Does the South African remind him of John Wright? "Gary is doing a wonderful job for Indian cricket," said Ganguly, the glow in his eyes becoming palpable. He lets the players do their work and that is important."
What followed was, perhaps, the venting out of his frustrations (if you take pains to read between the lines that is.) "The coach has to be friend and should not try to dominate. The captain is the most important member in the team," reasoned Ganguly. "Whenever the coach has tried to dominate there has been problems, be it in the (Kevin) Pietersen case or (Graeme) Smith. Even there were such issues in Indian cricket (read Greg Chappell).
"The coach can help only to a certain extent. And that is only about 10 per cent of the total effort. The major work has to be done by the players on the field."
The topic veered towards the second edition of the
"But we are happy that we have Brendon (McCullum) and Chris (Gayle) available throughout." So, is he happy with the composition of his team? "The team is definitely strong. Last year, we had a problem with the availability of players. Therefore, this year we have picked our team keeping that in mind," he said.
"Also, the biggest factor that contributed to Rajasthan Royals doing so well last year was the fact that they had a lot of local talent involved. We are trying to make the best use of home-bred talents, like Sachin Rana and Sunny Singh, this time around."
And what about their prized-catch -- Mashrafe Mortaza? "Mortaza is a very good cricketer," said Ganguly, defending the Bangladesh player. "Unfortunately for him, he plays for a team which hardly wins. Hopefully, he will do well and prove himself worthy of in a side that already has so many top class players."
But still isn't paying $600, 000 for him (Mortaza) a bit too much? "In terms of money, when you pick players for the IPL it is not about selection. It is about bidding," reasoned Ganguly. "Sometimes, the prices go over the roof and you have to accept that. For it depends on what the other party quotes."
Now that most of the questions had been exhausted, it was time to end on a lighter note. There are rumours that Ganguly will contest the forthcoming elections in certain sections of the Bengali press. "No, there's no truth in these rumours," he explained, even before the question could be completed. "I won't ever contest polls, because I don't understand politics!"
‘Dancing is not for Sourav Ganguly!’
Source: Screen India Date: February 27, 2008
From being the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders to judging a reality show, Sourav Ganguly talks about the upcoming IPL-2, and the concept of cheerleaders
What was your initial reaction when you realised that you will have to judge the show?
I was a bit on the defensive when I was told that I have to judge the show. But after seeing the girls’ performances, I got really involved. I became a judge for the show because I played for the Knight Riders and this is a completely new experience for me.
What are you looking for in a cheerleader?
We at Knight Riders are looking for energy, style, chutzpah, poise, personality, attitude, grace and rhythm. Only the six best girls will make it to the team finally.
Do you think it is important for the cheerleaders to know the basics about the game?
You can’t really expect the cheerleaders to know everything about the game. T20 cricket is about sport and entertainment as well. We are there to play and the cheerleaders are there to entertain.
There was a controversy the last time about cheerleaders distracting the players. What is your take on that?
Firstly, when you are playing for your team nothing in the world can distract you! Secondly, you have to look at the cheerleaders in the right angle. Cheerleading is not just about dancing; it’s about fitness and energy levels. It’s just a matter of how you look at it.
How difficult was it judging the girls?
I don’t know if it was difficult, but it was different. As a captain I am used to selecting and rejecting cricketers. Judging young girls of 15 and 16 perform in front of you is a completely different ball-game. I felt bad when I had to pick and choose the girls to be eliminated but that must not deter them. They should have the spirit to bounce back, just like we, while playing cricket.
What do you enjoy more, playing or judging?
Of course playing! I have been playing for so many years now. Judging is comparatively new for me.
Your wife Dona is a professional dancer. Did she share some tips with you?
You won’t believe it, but I haven’t even told her that I am going to be judging a reality show. Hopefully she will see me on TV and get to know about it!
Will we see you dancing like your other teammates?
Now you guys want me to dance as well? (Laughing) Dancing is only for Harbhajan, Sreesanth and Dinesh Kartik. Not for Sourav Ganguly.
Don’t you think all this will be perceived as more of entertainment and less of cricket?
You have to understand that T20 is about sport and entertainment. If the right balance is maintained, there is no problem.
Will Ponting’s absence make a difference to the team?
Yes, but we are a good team. Things were a little haywire last time because most of the players didn’t have dates. This time we made sure that we only take in players who had the required dates.
Reportedly you are joining politics.
No, there is absolutely no truth in that. And yes, to set the record straight, I haven’t even received any offers!
