Date:06/09/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/09/06/stories/2006090604801900.htm

Sport - Cricket

Ganguly looks to silence his critics

Principal Correspondent

HYDERABAD: It was on Sept. 6, 2005 in Harare that Sourav Ganguly played his last ODI. Exactly one year later, the former Indian captain will be playing for Cricket Association of Bengal in the Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup tournament against Mumbai at the Gymkhana Grounds on Wednesday.

Perhaps he could not have ever dreamt that his career would pass through such a critical phase. But, the 34-year-old is still in the mood to prove a point or two to his critics.

His logic seems simple. With India not getting a chance to play in the Unitech Cup, an objective assessment could not be made for dropping anyone and continuity was inevitable. So for the moment, he is focussed on domestic cricket knowing perhaps that therein lies his redemption.

The fact that he was knocking the ball around for more than 30 minutes in the `nets' just hours after his arrival is a fair indication of his intensity.

No revelations

His popularity was pretty much evident as many mediapersons turned up to have a few sound bytes. But on this front, Ganguly threw enough hints that first he will let his bat do the talking and then talk to the media. "Please wait till the match gets over. I will definitely talk to you," was his plea.

For the few fans who turned up at the venue, it was obvious that Ganguly, with a handsome ODI record of 10,123 runs from 279 matches with 22 centuries and 60 fifties at an average of 40.65, still remains hungry.

Will Gymkhana and Moin-ud-Dowla prove to be a lucky combination for his comeback trail as it happened with many in the past? Hopefully, he will be ready to reveal something interesting soon at the same venue.