Sourav Ganguly bats for Indo-Pak series
The dust of the possibility of India-Pakistan series seemed to have not settled yet, with comments from several ex-cricketers and politicians, making headlines everyday. Despite the BCCI announcing that it was very uncertain for the series to take place, just the talk of the high-voltage clash seem to kindle interest among many former cricketers.
Now former Indian captain and current president of the Bengal Cricket board, has also strongly come out in favour of India playing their arch-rivals, Pakistan in the near future, in a full-fledged series, even as tensions flare between the two nations and the two cricket boards.
Dada felt that Indo-Pak series always generated great amount of interest among fans, but also agreed that several factors came into the picture, while considering the decision to play each other.
"India-Pakistan contests are high octane given the interest it garners in both countries. Personally I am in favor of a series. However, there several factors which play part," he said, as quoted by TOI.
Talking about the announcement of the squads for the tour of Australia, the 43-year old also seemed glad by the inclusion of Ashish Nehra and Yuvraj Singh, back to the T20 fold, and asserted that they could cement their spot in the team, with consistent performance in the limited chances available.
"If they perform consistently, they(Nehra and Yuvraj) will continue to remain in the squad,” he said.
Dada’s comments about the India-Pakistan series, may have little takers in the BCCI, as Anurag Thakur had recently dismissed any possibility of India playing their neighbours, by the end of this year.
Thakur, during the announcement of squads for ODIs and T20Is, for the Australian tour, had given out the statement about the uncertainity of the arch rivals facing off, saying that it ‘wasn't possible’ to squeeze in the series in the limited time window they had.
Speaking in the city of Ranchi, Ganguly applauded the facilities available for cricketers in the state of Jharkand, and added that the state association had been doing a good job in producing talented cricketers at an international level.
"The cricket stadium here (JSCA) is excellent. The state is also producing many talented cricketers like Saurabh Tiwary and Varun Aron who are doing good at international levels," he remarked.