HYDERABAD: The humane touch of Sourav Ganguly came to the fore when the former India captain just could not resist the temptation to visit the M.L. Jaisimha 365 Indoor Cricket Academy near Gymkhana Grounds here on Thursday.

In a spontaneous response to the request by Jayanthi, wife of M.L. Jaisimha, Sourav immediately left for the venue after the second day's play against Mumbai in the ongoing Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup cricket match at Gymkhana.

Interacts with trainees

"Well, it is a totally different experience as the surface too looks so different," exclaimed Sourav in a chat with The Hindu after an interaction with the enthusiastic kids at the air-conditioned indoor facility. "It looks really good and I hope the kids will make optimum use of the facility to become good cricketers," he remarked. Aware of the popularity of stylish V.V.S. Laxman, the `Prince of Kolkata' enquired from the kids whether they had met Laxman or not. "He is a very good bat, isn't he?" he asked them.

Sourav had a word of advice for the organisers. "Don't allow kids to play without helmets. It is a must because the ball is really coming on," he said.

A hit with crowds

By all means he was a big hit with the crowds in Hyderabad over the last two days, acknowledging the horde of autograph hunters and even posing for photos. Even at the Academy it was he who called all the trainees to pose for a group photo.

And he was quick to acknowledge the cricketing genius of M.L. Jaisimha. "It is really great to see the family continuing to work for the sport. We all know what Jaisimha stood for. I wish them all the best in their future endeavours," he said.

True to his nature Sourav, however, refused to comment whether similar indoor facilities should come up in other big cricketing centres. "I cannot say anything about that. And neither do I have any plans for any such thing in the near future," he remarked

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