Ganguly may sit out Pune’s last three matches – Cricket News Update
The Pune Warriors team management is expected to have a meeting in order to decide the fate of skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sourav-Chandidas-Ganguly-c90746, who may sit out the team’s remaining three matches during the ongoing 5th edition of the Indian Premier League.
The Pune Warriors, among the most expensive franchises in the IPL, are currently second from last on the tournament points table, having won only 4 of their 13 matches so far. The team started out on a promising note, having won their first two matches,
against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Punjab-c833 respectively.
However, from there onwards it was a downhill slide for the team, and the last match they won was against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Delhi-c780 Daredevils on April 21, after which they have been on a losing streak for 6 matches, calling Ganguly’s captaincy into question.
The downward spiral has been aggravated by poor team selections on the skipper’s part – for example, Bangladeshi opener http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Tamim-Iqbal-c2640, who put forth an impressive display and remained the top scorer during the Asia Cup (including 4 consecutive centuries),
has not been utilised for even one match.
“If Ganguly himself offers to step down from captaincy and decides to sit out for the remaining three games, the owners will certainly be only too happy to accommodate,” confirmed a senior IPL official to the
PTI. “The general feeling is that, they have lost with Ganguly at the helm and with new players, it can't get worse.”
“The http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Warriors-c861 management may be resorting to a "wait and watch" policy as their officials are finding it difficult to go up and confront Ganguly over his team selections,” he added.
In addition to the performances of the team, and poor selection, 39-year-old Ganguly’s individual outings throughout the season have also been below par. The skipper’s highest score has not risen above 41, and he currently has 261 runs from 13 games, with
a strike rate slightly above 100.
Bishen Singh Bedi, former Indian captain, has also hit out at Ganguly, saying the left-hander should have given up playing the IPL a long time ago, and ought to step down gracefully instead of continuing to deprive younger players of opportunities.
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