Ganguly dismisses speculations that he was approached by Kochi
Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly dismissed speculations on Thursday that he was approached by Kochi, an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, saying that he has not been approached by any IPL team.
“I’ve not been approached by any team,” Ganguly told the media during a special World Cup promotional event.
He stated that he has not been contacted by any team, dismissing the rumours that the franchise belonging to the state of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kerala-c803 has picked Ganguly through an open bidding process.
“I don’t know much about Kochi, it seems you guys know more...,” Ganguly cleared the air that all the rumours were started by the media and it was just a speculation since no franchise contacted him.
India’s most successful Test captain was snubbed at the IPL 2011 auction earlier this month for season four.
His former employees, Kolkata http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Knight-c71599 Riders (KKR) did not take him and he failed to get any response from the other nine franchise owners. After his exclusion from the Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's owned franchise, the state of Bengal went into a
raging furore. However, Shah Rukh expressed that his franchise would never be complete without the “pride of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bengal-c771,” sparking rumours that he might be brought back into the team.
The team director of KKR, Joy Bhattacharjya stated that he hoped that they can “have some involvement in the game with him (Ganguly).”
However, Ganguly’s disclosure that he has not been approached by any team reveals that he is still unsold for the IPL season 4.
Ganguly, who captained KKR in the opening season and the third season of the IPL, admitted that he was shocked when he went unsold.
“I don’t know what happened, but it’s up to the team,” Ganguly expressed his incredulity. Ganguly’s base price ($400,000) raised quite a few eyebrows even before the auction with many officials of the franchises saying that he might not find any buyer.
After being unsold in the auction, it was expected that he might be taken up by a franchise but for a lesser price. Media reports suggested that the new franchise Kochi IPL, which is owned by Rendezvous Sports, obtained a “NOC” (no-objection certificate)
after contacting the other IPL teams.
IPL’s rule-book states that if a player needs to be a part of the IPL through an open-bidding process, all the ten franchises need to move a no-objection vote of confidence.
However, Ganguly said that the media has been “sensationalizing” everything but in fact none of it is true.
Meanwhile, he also urged his fans to support Indian captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 and his men no matter how they perform in the World Cup.
“If we win, it will be fantastic. But even if we don’t win we (fans) will still support you. It’s a very good side and settled side with a great bunch of boys,” Ganguly said.
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