Former BCCI President Sourav Ganguly is making a comeback in IPL once again with Delhi Capitals. Regarding the injury of cricketers and the management of IPL and international cricket, Sourav, the director of cricket of Delhi Capitals, said that as long as the player is there, he should keep playing. Abhishek Tripathi had an exclusive conversation with Sourav Ganguly.
Question – You are back in Delhi Capitals again. The team is yet to win any title. What are the expectations this time?
Sourav Ganguly – We will have to wait for the tournament to start. Like every team, there is no dearth of talent in Delhi too, but the match is different, and winning is different. All 10 teams are contenders to win the trophy; whoever plays well will win.
Question – First cricketer, administrator, coach, and then administrator. Now the role of Director of Cricket. How do you see this era?
Sourav Ganguly – It goes on and on. First played cricket for the Indian team for so long, then became the Bengal Cricket Association (CAB) president for five years. Then coached for Delhi for a year and then became the BCCI President, and now back to Delhi Capitals. The tenure of an administrator is fixed; if you do well here, you will be able to continue further. All the different roles were challenging for me.
Question – Rishabh Pant was the captain of Delhi; this time, he would be missed. Did you talk to him?
Sourav Ganguly – Yes, I do. I spoke to Rishabh just 20-25 days ago. I always say that he is very young; he has a long way to go. What happened to him was unfortunate. We want him to make a full recovery and come back. Don’t make any haste. He can play for 10-12 years now. Yes, the Delhi team will miss him. He was very important to us, but you can’t do anything about an injury.
Question – What will be the biggest challenge for Delhi this season?
Sourav Ganguly – Well played. This game is very simple to me, but we make it complicated. Delhi has been playing well for the last three-four years. Played the final once and made it to the playoffs twice but didn’t win the trophy. This season we have to qualify for the playoffs first. The first challenge will be that after 14 matches, we have to make it to the top four.
