Sourav Ganguly first to bring ‘oneness’ in Indian cricket, states Dilip Doshi

11/08/2019

Veteran left-arm spinner Dilip Doshi, on Thursday, credited former captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly as the one for bringing in 'oneness' in Indian cricket and with no regional inclinations at all. The 71-year-old recently launched his book named Wizards - The Story of Indian Spin Bowling’.

Doshi, who made his debut at the age of 32 and has 114 Test wickets to his name, has spoken about the regional discrimination while picking players that were prevalent during his days.

“I must tell during our days you could have played for India only if you are a North Indian from North India or Maharashtrian from Mumbai or from South. One can never think of a cricketer playing in Indian team from Eastern states like Bihar,” Doshi was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

During the launch of his book on Indian spin, authored by Anindya Dutta, Doshi heavily praised Ganguly for the one who exterminated the discord concerning regionalism from Indian cricket. Even though Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi also put in some effort regarding factionalism, according to Doshi, it was Ganguly who stood out.

“The first Indian to bring oneness and Indianness in Indian cricket is Sourav. Tiger (Pataudi) was also there but Sourav stood out,” Doshi revealed.