India’s Sourav Ganguly, sulking in defeat and disgrace after becoming the first Test captain to be suspended for slow over rates, on Monday received unexpected support from two Pakistan legends, Imran Khan and Wasim Akram.
The duo said they sympathise with the Indian captain, who will miss the upcoming home series against South Africa after being slapped with a two-Test ban following the six-wicket defeat at Pakistan’s hands in Saturday’s one-day international at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta.
International Cricket Council match referee Clive Lloyd handed Ganguly the unprecedented suspension for India’s slow over rate, which saw the match finish almost an hour behind schedule.
Lloyd gave an ”allowance of 24 minutes” for stoppages owing to on-field injuries and frequent drying of the ball because of the heavy dew on the ground, but ruled that India still fell five overs short.
Ganguly declined to comment on his suspension, but both Imran and Akram jumped to the defence of the beleaguered Indian captain.
”I was surprised to hear of Lloyd’s harsh judgement,” said Imran, who attended the match that was played to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
”A lot of time was spent in trying to keep the ball dry and also in changing it,” Imran wrote in the mass-circulated Hindustan Times newspaper. ”Sourav has my sympathies and I think this was an occasion on which the referee could have shown some leniency.”
Akram, in India on a private visit, hoped the Indian cricket establishment will retain faith in Ganguly despite the recent reverses both on and off the field.
”My advice is to leave Ganguly and the team alone,” Akram said. ”Give him the support and I am sure he will come back. The team is too good to fail for long.”
India have suffered four consecutive one-day losses to Pakistan since August, and earlier this month conceded their first Test series defeat on home soil to Australia in 35 years.
Ganguly — India’s most successful Test captain with 15 wins, who was fêted after the victorious tour of Pakistan in March and April where he won both the Test and one-day series — has suddenly turned a villain in the eyes of the country’s fanatical cricket supporters.
He was rubbished in the media for opting out of the last two Tests against Australia with a groin injury described by the respected India Today magazine as a case of ”green wicket-itis”.
The magazine’s comment followed Ganguly’s outburst at the rare greentop prepared for the third Test at Nagpur which India went on to lose by 342 runs, their heaviest defeat in terms of runs.
Ganguly’s suspension from the two matches against South Africa, starting on Saturday, means he will have missed six of India’s last nine Tests.
Vice-captain Rahul Dravid will lead the hosts against South Africa if, as is likely, the BCCI’s appeal against Ganguly’s suspension is rejected.
This was the second time in the past 12 months that Ganguly was hauled up for slow over rates. He was fined half his match fees for a similar offence during a one-day international in Australia in January. — Sapa-AFP