Pawar effect: Sourav may defect

NEW DELHI: Sourav Ganguly was closeted with BCCI president Sharad Pawar for close to an hour on Tuesday evening. And if the board’s media committee chairman Rajiv Shukla is to be believed, they discussed the “general state of Indian cricket”.

 

A chilly Capital evening held the promise of some hot news but, in the end, all that was served out was typical BCCI banalities. Pawar and Ganguly both posed for the cameras and then exited leaving the stage to Shukla.

 

“The selection issue was not discussed,” Shukla volunteered. “Greg Chappell did not figure at all,” came next. “Sourav wanted to give suggestions to make Indian cricket stronger,” was another. Shukla also suggested that “Sourav’s experiences of the last Pak Tour were talked about”.

 

IS Bindra, president of the PCA and Pawar’s right-hand man, had said on Tuesday: “If the former captain has an issue to discuss with the president, it is Mr Pawar’s prerogative to entertain his request.” When quizzed about the unprecedented nature of the meeting, he added, “Given the contribution of Sourav to Indian cricket, such a request is nothing big to grant.”

 

The inside story, sources said, is that Ganguly has been apprised of the ruling faction’s reservations vis-à-vis the mileage that Jagmohan Dalmiya is extracting from the issue. Prominent office-bearers point out on condition of anonymity that, after all, Ganguly was first removed as captain and dumped from the one-day squad when Dalmiya’s faction was in charge. So the present statements from Dalmiya seem out of place. Further, Ganguly has been told that it is best for him to distance himself from the former regime.