Dubai: UAE fans will miss out on former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly’s ‘dadagiri’ (bossing around) on the field at the inaugural Master Cricket League, starting here on Thursday.
Ganguly, supposed to lead the Libra Legends team in the T20 tournament for retired greats of the game, had to pull out at the last minute “on doctor’s advice”, after sustaining a back spasm during a practice match a few days ago.
Gulf News has learnt that he will still make a whistle-stop visit to the city on Thursday morning to spend some time with his teammates and also cheer them from the dugout in the opening match of the tournament at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Speculation about the availability of Ganguly — arguably one of the best Indian captains — gathered steam when he was missing from the official
captains’ press conference in Dubai on Tuesday morning.
Veteran Australian bowler Brad Hogg, who attended the briefing, said that Libra Legends team management wanted to convey the message that Ganguly would be joining the team soon and will be available for the opener.
When contacted, sources in the Ganguly camp in Kolkata confirmed that the 42-year-old left-hander had hurt his back while turning for a single and doctors have advised him bed rest for at least two weeks and then review the condition. “He [Ganguly] had signed the playing contract much earlier and was committed to play in the tournament. Despite his busy schedule, Ganguly had engaged himself in regular practice sessions for a while until this unfortunate turn of events. We have already written to the league management clarifying the position and despite the medical advice, he will be undertaking a four and-a-half hour flight each way to be with the team for the first match,” sources told Gulf News.
When asked about Ganguly’s pullout earlier in the day, Zafar Shah the chairman of MCL said he still didn’t have a clear picture on the sudden turnaround of events.
“I don’t know what the situation right now is,” Shah said. “I heard he is injured. I haven’t spoken to Libra Legends at this point of time but he will be there for the opening match, so don’t worry about it.”
While it’s certainly bad news for the profile of the tournament, Libra Legends have a suitable replacement in the shape of South African great Jacques Kallis, the second biggest signing for Libra Lions (Dh918,370, $175,000) after Ganguly. The South African all-rounder, who tasted victory in the Big Bash league on Sunday with Sydney Thunders, is currently on a high and will be keen to carry that form into this tournament.
“Kallis’ Sydney Thunders won the Big Bash league, so he was not there for training this morning after all that celebrations. I think he has landed and is in the hotel ... I will be going and grabbing him and make sure he is there with us for cruise tonight. He has been the coach of Kolkata Knight Riders, so I have to do a bit of sucking up to him,” Hogg said with a smile, before adding: “We have just finished the Big Bash and so we have been playing good cricket and look forward to the MCL.”
