Do what government decides: Sourav Ganguly on India-Pakistan issue

Former India captain and the president of Cricket Association of Bengal Sourav Ganguly has backed the present captain Virat Kohli, who said that his team would go by the decisions taken by the Union Government and the BCCI with regard to playing against Pakistan over the Pulwama incident.

Sourav Ganguly at an event in Kolkata on Saturday.

Former India captain and the president of Cricket Association of Bengal Sourav Ganguly has backed the present captain Virat Kohli, who said that his team would go by the decisions taken by the Union Government and the BCCI with regard to playing against Pakistan over the Pulwama incident.

“I think that is the way forward. He (Kohli) does not control all these things but the thing which he can control is the way his team has played so far and can play in the future. They are a phenomenal side and they have played absolutely superb cricket for the last six months,” Ganguly said taking questions after being declared the India ambassador of the Street Child Cricket World Cup 2019.

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“I do not think he should worry about what is going to happen. The government always takes the decision, whichever government is in power, when India plays Pakistan. There is no change to it and I am sure the cricketers will stick to that,” Ganguly added.

He, however, had a witty retort to the opinion of former teammate Sachin Tendulkar, who went with Sunil Gavaskar’s stand that India should be picking up two points by beating Pakistan and not forfeit the upcoming ICC World Cup tie.

“He (Tendulkar) wants two points against Pakistan, I want the World Cup. So, he wants two points I want the World Cup, whichever way you look at it,” Ganguly said.

On former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad’s recent attack following his comments about severing all sporting ties with Pakistan, Ganguly chose not to be drawn into a war of words. “I have no reaction to Javed Miandad. I enjoyed watching him bat. I thought he was a fantastic player for Pakistan,” Ganguly said.

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Ganguly was also very upbeat about India’s chances in the World Cup, which starts in June in the United Kingdom. “India is the favourite but the way Sri Lanka is playing in South Africa also tells a lot about their form. So, I do not believe in the ‘favourites’ tag,” Ganguly said.

“But India is a much stronger team at the moment and the way they have played in the last few months, they will be very high on confidence,” he added.