Sport - Cricket

Ganguly deserved to go out on a high, says Srikkanth

Bangalore: Sourav Ganguly and K. Srikkanth were involved in a conversation out there in the middle.

And as the Indian players continued with their training stint at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Ganguly and the chairman of the selection committee seemed preoccupied in their discussions. Srikkanth said later that it was a chat that dealt with Ganguly’s desire to retire after the forthcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy series.

“Ganguly is an extraordinary player with a fantastic record. One of the finest captains World cricket has seen and a great batsman. He wanted to go out on a high and we had a chat, in fact all of you (media) would have seen that out in the middle today. Yes we spoke at the ground, my co-selector Hiru bhai (Narendra Hirwani) was also present nearby and then we spoke to the captain and coach. I have been a player and I understand his viewpoint, he wanted a free series without the pressure of the axe around him. He deserves it with the kind of record he has built over the years,” Srikkanth said.

Srikkanth mentioned that Ganguly made an announcement in the dressing room.

“He spoke about it in the dressing room and the players applauded. We all wished him the very best,” Srikkanth said.

Asked whether Ganguly’s desire to retire spanned the entire four-match series or was specific to the first two matches for which he was initially selected, Srikkanth shot back: “Please don’t twist my statements. I have been clear. He is a great player and I hope he goes out on a high with a couple of centuries and India winning the series.”

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