I also sat in dugout after leading India, states Sourav Ganguly on Mithali Raj’s exclusion
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After Mithali Raj was not included in the Indian women’s team for the semi-final match against England at the ICC Women’s World T20, Sourav Ganguly has mentioned that he too had to sit out after leading the team. The CAB president feels that Raj still has a lot of cricket left in her.
After scoring a couple of fifties at the ICC Women’s World T20 in West Indies, the former captain of the women’s team – Mithali Raj - had to sit out in the semi-final game against Team England, in which the Indian women team had to face an eight-wicket defeat, after missing out the last league match against the Aussies due to a knee issue. Reacting on the incident, former India skipper Ganguly explained that things like this do happen in cricket and is nothing new. He remembered his playing days when he had to sit out of the team even after being one of the successful captains in Indian cricket.
"No! I also have sat in the dugout after captaining India. When I saw Mithali Raj being dropped, I said 'Welcome to the group. Captains are asked to sit, so just do it. I have done it in Faisalabad. I didn't play an ODI game for 15 months when I was probably the best performer in one-day cricket. It happens in life. The best in the world are at times shown the door," Ganguly said at the Tollygunge Club in Kolkata recalling the second Test of the series against Pakistan in 2006, reported PTI.
"You should always remember you're best because you did something and there's an opportunity again. So I am not too disappointed seeing Mithali Raj being asked to sit out. I have not been disappointed to see the reactions on the ground. But I am disappointed because India lost the semifinals because I thought they had the team to go the distance. It happens as they say there's no guarantee in life."
The 46-year-old former cricketer also commented on MS Dhoni’s chances of playing in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. There has been a lot of discussions on whether Dhoni should continue being a part of the Indian limited-overs side or not after his recent form in the shorter formats of the game. Ganguly said that to survive at the topmost level one has to keep performing on a regular basis.
"He's (Dhoni) another champion. Fantastic career for 12-13 years since winning the World Twenty 20. Just like everyone else he has to perform. There's one must in life: whatever job you do, wherever you are, whatever age you have, how much experience you have you have to keep performing at the top level otherwise someone else will take your place," the CAB president said.
"I wish him all the luck because we want champions to go on a high. I still feel he can hit the ball in the stands. He's a phenomenal cricketer.”
When asked about the team combination for the 2019 ICC World Cup, Ganguly replied, "I am not a selector but I expect 85-90 per cent of this team to play in the World Cup."
"He (Virat Kohli) is phenomenal. Look at his numbers. He wears his hat on his sleeves and India needs a captain like him for whom winning means everything. I wish him all the luck."
India will be playing a four-match Test series against the Aussies starting from December 6 in Adelaide. They managed to level the three-match T20I series 1-1 after winning the last T20I by six wickets today. Ganguly spoke about the Tour Down Under and also warned the Aussies to be careful of another ball-tampering scandal.
"Nobody wants to go there and lose. In your journey to the tag of
